


Lie Low

by pencilxpaper



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Catra has bad coping mechanisms, Coming Out, Cussing, F/F, Fluff, Porn With Plot, Smut, implied past Glitra fling, things get rough but it ends well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:14:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25651192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pencilxpaper/pseuds/pencilxpaper
Summary: Catra is living a double life as a straight conservative business student during the week, and less than straight rock personality on the weekends. Everything is going as expected until she runs across her highschool crush, Adora, and they begin dating in secret. Catra struggles with the balancing act of keeping up appearances while also indulging in the secret relationship. Her new job throws her a curveball that threatens to undo her carefully crafted facade. Will she choose the secure future laid out for her or this new love that has upended her life?
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 53
Kudos: 361
Collections: Himmelslieds Collection of Catradora Goodness





	1. Chapter 1

Catra burst into her apartment, throwing her backpack half across the room. She ripped off her professional clothes and strewn them across the floor as she speed-dialed Scorpia, putting her on speakerphone. Scorpia picked up instantly. Catra declared, “I’m home. I’ll be ready in ten minutes tops.”

“I’m nearly there. Stuck at a red light.”

“Great, then I’ll take my time.” Catra pulled the tie from her hair. A few shakes of her head and it was sufficiently disheveled to serve the night. 

“Lonnie and the others are going to meet us there, just to make this faster.” Through the phone, Catra could hear the sounds of the road. Someone honked.

“I don’t like being late.” Catra threw off her socks and dove for the red and black tights she had hidden under the side table and a black form-fitting top. She just needed her makeup and her colored contact, which both took too long to put on. “I’ll put the makeup on in the van to make this faster.” She threw the bag on the couch to remember to take it.

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

Catra grabbed under her couch to get her guitar secured behind the skirt. The transformation was nearly complete.

“So what held you up today? I thought you said your classes were over by four?”

Catra didn’t want to answer, and she headed to her kitchenette. “I had to talk to my professor.” That was a lie. She reached into the back of her pantry, to the tube she had crafted to look like a paper towel roll. She ripped off the facade and pulled out a bottle of cheap tequila.

“Hey, I’m almost there. I won’t even park. Just meet me outside.” With that, Scorpia hung up.

Catra ripped off the lid of the bottle, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Here’s to a shitty Friday,” she toasted to herself, before upending the bottle and chugging. She came up for air, and chugged more, letting it burn on the way down. She capped it, and carefully put it back in its spot at the back of the pantry.

She stood there for a moment, feeling it all settling in her stomach and considered pulling it back out since she still had the lingering feeling from the phone call that had made her late. She settled on grabbing her guitar and makeup and heading out. She’d have ample time to drown out the critical voice in her head that night. She ran out of the door.

Scorpia sat in the driver’s seat of their black van, painted on the side with the band logo. Catra slid into the passenger side, throwing her guitar between them. Her makeup container was already open. “Hit the gas. I’m ready for this weekend to start.”

Scorpia didn’t hit the gas. She instead took a quick breath in through her nose. “You uh- smell like you’ve been drinking.”

Catra threw the rock sign at her with her free hand. “Pregaming.”

“We’re going to a bar. We get free drinks. I mean, I know we’re the Wildcats, but we don’t have to be that wild.”

Catra flipped the mirror down and started slathering black makeup across half her face like a mask. It was part of the Wildcat persona, a signature, but it was also there to avoid anyone recognizing her from school. “I’ll be able to play.”

“It’s not about the gig. It’s about you. I’m worried.”

“You don’t need to be worried. I’m fine. Today was just hard. Ms. Weaver called, and I had to talk to Dr. Añejo afterward.” Catra avoided eye contact as she slipped her blue contact lense into her left eye, masking her heterochromia for the evening. Scorpia didn’t know Dr. Añejo was the bottle hidden in her kitchen. With as many times as Scorpia had suggested therapy, creating the persona was an easy way to get her off her back.

Scorpia turned the key and started the engine. “Enough said, but next time why don’t we talk about it before you drink... how many?”

“Don’t get your panties in a wad. It was just a shot to take the edge off.” Catra focused intently on the makeup in the mirror.

“Oh good,” Scorpia said in a chipper voice as she let the van start to move forward.

***

Power ballad covers, rock standards, colored lights, and a rowdy crowd filled the evening accentuated by a stream of free beers that Catra took full advantage of between songs. During the break, another beer came, and Catra took it happily while Lonnie, the squad's bassist, grabbed Catra by the shoulder and spun her around to face her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing getting smashed on stage?”

Catra smiled big and pushed Lonnie off her. “I’m doing fine. They love me. What’s the problem?”

Lonnie pointed back at Rogelio, who made some noises and spun his drumsticks. Lonnie translated. “He says you’re off tempo. You’re making him, and us, look bad.”

Catra laughed at herself as she lifted her drink to her lips. “You’re doing pretty good at looking bad on your own.”

Lonnie brought up a fist, and Scorpia lept from behind the keyboard. She stepped between them. “I’ll take care of it.”

Catra’s good mood was gone. She didn’t appreciate Scopria protecting her like that. Besides, a fight on stage would have been epic.

Lonnie backed off, “She’s not worth it anyway.”

Scorpia faced Catra and grabbed the beer out of her hand.

“HEY!” Catra tried to grab it back, but Scorpia had a death grip on the glass and held it just above her reach.

“You’re cut off, Wildcat.”

“That’s not fair!”

“If you drink anything else, Kyle’s going to replace you.” She gestured toward the meek blond man sitting at the table closest to the band. He waved back.

Catra clinched her fist and roared against the sound of the crowd, but settled on a firm glare at Scorpia. She nodded reluctantly.

“Great! Let's finish this set and rock it!” Scorpia then downed the beer while Catra watched.

“Oh, I hate you,” Catra growled.

During the final set, the alcohol started to wear off, and Ms. Weaver’s voice kept returning to her memory. The woman had thrown accusations of uselessness, worthlessness, and not applying herself all because of a bad grade on her last assignment. It had been a stupid assignment anyway. 

The moment the final set ended, Catra threw her guitar at Scorpia, who caught it. “Drop it off later.”

Scorpia frowned a little. “You’re not coming back with us?”

“A cat’s gotta prowl. I’ll catch you later.” She headed to the bar to drown out the criticism in her head.

***

Catra woke up in some woman’s bed at 2 am. She didn’t know her name. Didn’t want to, and she wasn’t going to stay till morning like some cheap sap. No, a stealthy exit was the only way. She slowly climbed out of bed and started to look for her clothes in the dark when her phone buzzed. It lit up, and Scorpia’s name appeared. Catra grabbed the phone to hang up and shut it up.

The girl in the bed moaned and moved. So much for stealth.

The girl rolled over and smiled at Catra in the dark. Illuminated by Catra’s phone’s glow, this girl had the most beautiful blue eyes Catra had ever seen. “Leaving so soon?”

“I was.” She looked the girl over, realizing she only remembered bits and pieces of her from the bar. Blue eyes. Long blonde hair. Smoking body. Something was off, though. Her phone’s screen went dark, and she touched it again to make it light up so she could see the girl’s face. She moved in and got close.

The woman watched with mild amusement. “What?”

“Do I- know you?”

The woman blinked. “From the bar?”

“No, you idiot. From before the bar. You look familiar.” She didn’t often stare her one-night-stands in the eyes for this long. The look on the girl’s face was tickling a part of her memory.

The girl stared back, and her eyes went wide. “Catra?”

“ADORA?”

“SHHH! People are trying to sleep.”

Catra starred in full shock as her brain clicked in all the missing pieces. Laying next to her on the bed was her highschool crush.

Adora covered her bare chest with the blanket. “Oh, wow, I should have realized it was you, but the makeup and the costume- I mean, I thought you did sound familiar, but it’s not like you were talking much.” She blinked in the dark. “And your eye changed color?”

“It’s a contact.” Catra’s face felt hot in the dark. She was glad for the darkness obscuring her adolescent reaction. Oh wow. If she had realized it was Adora, she would have been a lot more gentle? A lot more selfless, or more selfish? Shit. “Adora, I didn’t know you were- you know- into girls?”

Adora giggled a little and rolled to show off her shoulder tattoo. Of course, it was a pride flag. “I think you zeroed in on this and pounced. And, heck, you’re the one to talk. All those years in high school, and I had no idea.”

Catra was already starting to feel the headache from her night of excess, and couldn’t handle all this. She needed to find her clothes. She looked away from the mess on the bed and started rummaging through the discarded clothes on the floor.

“You’re going to have one hell of a hangover.”

“Tell me what else is new.”

Adora moved on the bed, reaching over to her side table. She quickly produced a bottle of water and a bottle of painkillers.

Catra eyed them suspiciously before popping the top and greedily taking a few pills and downing the water. She fought to keep it all down.

“You’re supposed to sip the water, not guzzle it.”

“I don't have time to sip.” 

Adora just smiled knowingly, looking at her with those big blue eyes. “So, you’re still leaving?”

“Yeah, it’s not like I’ve got a lot of reasons to stay.”

“Well, I haven’t seen you in years.”

“Since you disappeared.” 

Adora pulled her blanket up to her chin, insecure. “I had to.”

Catra found her leggings under Adora's jeans and started putting her feet into the legs.

Adora sighed and laid on her back. “I know you’re angry at me.”

“I’m not angry. I’m relieved you’re alive, and I’m wondering why I had to find out that just now.”

“I’m sorry. At the time, I didn’t think I could talk about it with anyone.” She paused, watching Catra start to put her clothes back on. “If you stay, maybe we can catch up in the morning... and maybe go again.”

Catra couldn't help but smile at that. “You want seconds?”

“Don’t you? You have to admit what we just did was fun, and we didn’t even know who we were yet.” She hit Catra affectionately on the shoulder. “And I’d love to catch up with an old friend.”

“No, I’ve got to go.” The words felt hollow. It was an intoxicating thought, but staying the night was against her code. Love em’ and leave em’. Don’t get attached. 

“Oh, ok,” Adora said it in a voice so sad, so quiet, that it tugged at Catra’s heart. Adora turned over in the bed so she wouldn't have to watch her leave.

Catra ran through all the justifications in her head. No use in staying over. They’d have nothing to talk about. They didn’t even really know each other anymore. Better to just cut it off before things got weird. Catra didn’t even realize she was slipping her pants back off. Her brain screamed. _What are you doing_? As she climbed into bed, pushing up against Adora’s naked back. The pull was too strong, and her body and brain weren’t on the same page. Her body won.

Adora hummed at the warmth.

***

As the sun came up, Catra found herself between Adora’s thighs. Adora’s hand gripped her hair, grinding against Catra's tongue. Her body tense, and in the early morning light showing off her muscled physique that had only gotten more tight, more refined, with age. Adora’s blue eyes shut. If they did open, it was to glance at what was happening, which only made Catra burn more. If this kept up, she’d be ash.

When Adora came, her thighs tightened around Catra’s head, and for a moment, Catra thought she could die happy right there. Adora shivered, all the softer bits of her jiggled, then she collapsed, exhausted. 

Catra sat up, wiping her mouth with the back of her arm, a devious smile on her face. “I could do that forever.”

Adora giggled, and then took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I can’t hear you.” She pulled her hands up to her ears.

“What?”

Adora made eye contact, hitting Catra with those deadly blue eyes. “I mean, I can barely hear you. Have you ever had an orgasm so good that you lose your hearing? It sounds like radio static.” 

Catra shook her head. No, she had never felt that, but she was riveted at the idea that Adora had called the orgasm good, and it was affecting her.

“Ok. It's back. What did you say?”

“I said-” Catra thought better of repeating herself with something so personal. Adora didn’t need to know the effect she was having. “Nothing. I just cursed, because hot-damn.”

Adora smiled, closed her eyes, and relaxed into the bed.

Catra felt a warmth that was less intense than the fire she had before. That warmth felt good. That meant it was probably time to go. She started getting out of bed.

Adora’s eyes shot open. “Oh, I thought you were going to stay for a while. I can make you breakfast. We still haven’t talked.”

Catra sat on the edge of the bed, her shoulders hunched. “Do we have to talk?”

Adora, sat up, with that stupid smile. “I’d like to unless you have somewhere to be this morning.”

Catra shook her head, no. She had nowhere to be, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be here. With the taste of Adora still on her lips, having been in one of the most intimate positions, she felt miles away.

“I’ll make you an omelet, or hash, or pancakes. I’m not a great cook, but I can burn things the right way.”

Catra looked at her, and couldn’t deny the tug that Adora’s smile, those blue eyes, and that body in the morning light made on her. What was the harm? What was the worst that could happen? She could eat burnt food. “Sure.”

***

Adora’s apartment was a loft, with big open windows and a breathtaking view of Brightmoon from a distance. Catra had gotten dressed and lounged on the couch, admiring the city, while Adora worked some kind of magic in the kitchen. At least it smelled like magic. Usually, on a Saturday morning, she didn’t feel much like eating. This morning was different. She wasn't sure if it was the smell of the food or just the scent of Adora that made her hungry.

“Coffee?” Adora called out, almost sweetly.

“Sure.” Catra’s phone buzzed, and Scorpia’s name appeared with a text.

Scorpia: You ok?

Catra: Stayed the night at a girl’s place. I’m fine.

Scorpia: :O

Catra: Shut up.

Scorpia: You still at this girl’s place?

Catra: None of your damn business

Scorpia: :D

Catra slid her phone to silent and pushed it between the couch cushions.

A few minutes later, Adora presented a small feast of breakfast foods and a steaming pot of coffee with little sugar and cream containers. “Do you do this for all your hookups?”

Adora beamed. “When they stay.”

Damn, this girl could make Catra blush. It wasn’t fair. She started filling her plate. “So, you said you wanted to talk. What do you want to know?”

“What are you up to?”

“I’m in my last semester of business school.”

“Wow! Business school?” 

“What?”

“I never really pictured you in business school.”

“Well, I got a scholarship to go to this one, so I took it. Full ride. It pays for my apartment, my food, my books. Pretty sweet deal. Ms. Weaver got it for me.”

Adora shivered. “I hated her.”

“Yeah, I do too. Once I graduate, I can leave and tell her to fuck off.”

“So wait, you still have to deal with her?”

Catra shrugged. “She’s the administrator of the scholarship. It was through the orphanage.” That was all she needed to say. She didn’t have to talk about the rest: the phone calls, the inspections. Adora wasn’t going to be around long enough to care about any of that. Catra ate a few bites of egg and looked Adora over. “What about you?”

Adora got a big smug smile and pointed behind her on the wall where there was a silver medal hanging. “I went to the Olympics. Second place in women’s Judo.”

“Holy shit, Adora. Are you kidding me?” Catra stared at the medal, in utter shock. Of course, Adora was an Olympian. What else would she expect from little miss perfect? “I guess I should have paid more attention to the last Olympics.”

“I’m going again next year. My Coach is impressed with my progress. She thinks I’ve got a good chance at gold.”

“That’s crazy, Adora.” She paused just to take it all in. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You were always the best at everything, and even then, you had the body of a Greek goddess.”

“Oh no, it sounds like you thought I was hot.”

Catra smiled. “Yeah, everyone thought you were hot.”

Adora stuffed some egg in her mouth before saying, “I wish I had known. I had a huge crush on you.”

Catra had gone in for another bite and nearly choked. “You what?”

Adora looked wistful. “I should have realized I was gay the moment I wanted to kiss you, but man, denial sucks.”

Catra forced herself to swallow. “You- wanted to kiss me?”

“Yeah! Do you remember that day you and I skipped class and hid on the roof? I wanted to kiss you so bad.”

Catra remembered that day. It had been both a comfort and a pain in the years after Adora disappeared. She leaned back on the couch, looking out the window and running this new information over her memory. Her high school crush liked her back. Of course, they just fucked twice, but somehow that didn’t hit as hard as knowing that the girl she had pined over, hurt herself over, had liked her back. Her defenses went up. This conversation was getting too emotionally raw. Too vulnerable. She needed to change the topic. “This is nice. It’s not like I normally get breakfast, let alone this much of one.”

“It’s too much, isn’t it? I’m sorry. My friends say I eat like a horse, and I assume everyone else does too. My coach says if I don’t eat like this, I won’t get any stronger. If she says protein one more time, I think I'll go crazy.”

“I said it’s nice.” It was nice, and that was dangerous. She put down her plate. “Thanks for the great sex, and the breakfast, but I better go.” She started to stand up.

Adora put out a hand, touching Catra on the arm. “Wait! I didn’t mean to scare you off.”

Catra’s heart leaped at the touch, and by the reaction Adora had, she noticed. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment too long before Catra’s eyes went to Adora’s mouth. All she could think about was kissing her. “I guess I could stay a little while.” 

“I’d love to keep- talking,” Adora said breathlessly, unable to take her eyes off Catra.

“Right- Talking. That’s what we’d do.” Catra’s heart raced under her skin. This girl was electric. 

Neither spoke, but they were conversing in an old language. Adora’s eyes dilated, her mouth slightly open. Catra’s entire body focused on Adora, and she moved smoothly toward her crush. What could it hurt to stay for another go?

Adora put her plate aside, as Catra climbed onto her lap, straddling her in the chair, and their lips met. Adora melted into the kiss, and Catra’s brain exploded as she realized Adora’s touch was intoxicating. It felt like heaven.

***

They both lay on the bed, on their backs, sweaty and breathing hard.

“That was fun,” Adora said breathlessly.

Catra grunted in approval.

Adora took some deep breaths and grabbed Catra’s hand next to her.

Catra was too tired to protest, but her brain screamed at her. _What are you doing?_ The answer came quickly, _fucking Adora_. Just that thought made her feel warm again.

“You’re good at this,” Adora said as she got her breath back.

“I’ve had a lot of practice.”

Adora’s grip on Catra’s hand tightened.

“I should probably go.”

“NO!” Adora startled at the sound of her voice. “I mean, what’s the rush? Do you have anything else you got to do today?”

“Not really.”

Adora smiled at the ceiling. “Then stay. See what happens.”

Catra’s brain screamed for her to get up right then and leave. Leave and never look back. Her body didn’t obey. Her mouth said, “Sure. Yeah. See what happens.”

As Adora prepared lunch, they started talking about old jokes, recounting funny stories. They laughed easily. It felt just like the good times. All this familiarity made Catra desperately want to leave. She made another attempt to make a weak excuse and again ended up in bed with Adora gripping her hair and screaming her name.

Afterward, they had pillow talk about anything that came to mind. Adora complained about her coach, her job. Catra complained about her classes. Adora made dinner, and they laughed with each other as the sunset. Adora returned the favor from lunch, making Catra yell her name.

Catra tried to crawl out of Adora’s bed after that last time, but she was honestly too tired. What was the harm in staying another night?


	2. Chapter 2

Catra stood in the doorway of her apartment, exhausted from a vigorous weekend and horrified that it had passed by quickly. She only managed to pull herself away from Adora when she couldn’t afford to stay. It had been hard, like pulling magnets apart.

Catra’s brain warned her. _This is dangerous_.

She never had to see Adora again. There was no reason to. They’d banged it out. Fucked all their old crush feelings away. There was nothing left to do. They could part, and go along their merry way and forget this ever happened.

Catra stuck her hand in her pocket. Inside was her phone and a piece of paper. She opened the paper to find Adora’s blocky handwriting. It was her phone number, with a note “text me.”

 _I am not doing that_ , she thought. Her hands put the number into her phone. She looked down at what she had done and wondered what in the world was wrong with her. She stood there for a moment, staring at the contact, before opening up the messaging app.

Catra: Hey Adora

When can I see you again?

 _What are you fucking doing?_ Catra’s warning system was flashing red. _Abort! Stop! Don’t get attached!_

Catra stared at the screen as the little dancing dots showed Adora was typing back.

Adora: Saturday

Breakfast again?

Catra’s chest nearly burst.

Catra: hell yes

She looked up from her phone, realizing what she was doing, but unable to stop it. She wanted to feel Adora again. Her body ached for it—the idea of intentionally avoiding her hurt too much.

She turned off the screen and started cleaning her apartment. She put her dirty clothes in the hamper, washed the dishes by hand, vacuumed, and dusted. All the while thinking to herself, sure she could see Adora again. No one would know. She’d kept her one-night-stands secret. How much harder would it be to keep this secret?

Catra got herself into her shower and turned it on cold. She had to get Adora’s scent off her so she could stop thinking about her. She convinced herself it was pure animal magnetism. Sure. That’s all it was. No problem. She just needed to indulge a little, and it would fade. For now, she just needed to get through it.

***

Catra woke up early and got dressed quickly, all while thinking about the new contact in her phone. Why did she want to text Adora again? They had plans. She just had to wait.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a knock at the door. Was every incriminating thing hidden? She glanced around the apartment to check, and then bolted to the door. 

She opened the door, and Ms. Weaver glared at Catra as she glided in without being invited. “I see you’re already dressed. Good.” She scanned the room slowly, her hands folded behind her back.

Catra stood at attention at the door. It took everything in her not to give a sarcastic salute.

Ms. Weaver usually didn’t touch anything, just skimmed. That was not the case today, as she started opening up drawers. “I was told you weren’t here all weekend.”

Catra already had an alibi. “I went camping.”

Ms. Weaver looked slightly surprised, but she stopped searching through drawers. “I’m impressed. I didn’t think you were listening when I suggested it would be good for you to get out into nature.” While her voice was calm, collected, her eyes betrayed her. She knew Catra was lying. “Where did you get the equipment?”

“I borrowed it from a friend in my finance class.”

“Where did you go?”

“A national park. Did you know there are five within a hundred miles of my apartment?” Catra couldn’t help but smile. She had all weekend, in between meals and Adora’s legs, to work out the details. Just the memory of it made Catra’s heart speed up. She had to stop thinking about Adora, especially with Ms. Weaver there. That witch could practically read minds.

“How did you get there?”

She wanted to say hitchhiked, just to see the shock on her face, but she went more mundane. “I took an Uber.”

Ms. Weaver straightened her back. “Did you do your daily readings while you were _camping_?” She said the last word with emphasis as if they both knew it was a farce.

“I can recite them if you want.”

Ms. Weaver waved her hand in dismissal. “That will not be necessary. I came today to tell you I have an internship inline for you.”

“What?”

“A friend of the orphanage, a donor, owns an investment business. I talked to him on your behalf. It starts this weekend.”

“That’s not fair!”

“What? Too busy _camping_?”

Catra couldn’t stop the anger rising in her throat. “I work myself to the bone at school all week. The weekends are the only time to do ANYTHING else!”

Ms. Weaver reached forward, touching the hair that hung past Catra’s ear. It always made Catra’s adrenaline spike. “It is a sacrifice, and my dear girl, we all must sacrifice something. Don’t worry. It’s not all weekend, just eight to five on Saturday. Besides, you know what they say, idle hands are the devil’s playthings. Best to keep yourself engaged in _honest_ employment.”

Catra’s could have lashed out. She used to. She and Ms. Weaver had some epic fights behind them, but she was so close to being out. It wasn’t worth it. She tamped down her feelings, the way she had learned to do every other day of her life. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Ms. Weaver withdrew her hand and headed toward the open door. “I’ll be back again next week, at a random time as usual. Next time you go _camping_ or expect to be away from your apartment, inform me ahead of time. That is all.” She left without saying goodbye. They were beyond pleasantries.

Catra stayed at attention for a few minutes after she was sure Ms. Weaver was gone. There was always the chance she’d come back to say one last thing, expecting Catra to have done SOMETHING the moment she left. Catra had gotten in trouble with that enough times. After a few tense moments, she breathed a sigh of relief before grabbing her things for class.

***

Scorpia met Catra later that day at a milkshake place, which wouldn’t cause suspicion for the Moral Enforcement Committee. Still, as she sat down, Catra kept an eye on the door to see if any of them would come in. Just being seen with Scopria could lead to questions Catra didn’t want to have to answer.

“So, what’s her name?” Scorpia asked before taking a long drink from her thick milkshake.

“Adora,” Catra said wistfully, just the sound of it coming out of her mouth, reminding her of hearing herself scream it.

“Adora? Adora. That sounds familiar.”

“Yeah, you may remember her from our stellar wrestling team, or the Olympics.” That last bit, she said while rolling her eyes, as if Adora couldn’t get any more perfect.

“OH, ADORA!” Scorpia almost dropped her large glass of milk and ice cream. She leaned in, whispering. “You stayed overnight at Adora’s apartment?”

“Loft. She has a freaking loft.”

Scorpia blinked. “Did you two-”

Catra’s eyes got wide as she mouthed, ‘oh yeah.’

“Huh. I had no idea. I guess we should have asked her to join the squad.” She leaned back, draining a third of the milkshake in one pull.

"I would have killed to see that." Catra could imagine the upheaval of the golden girl joining their misfit group. None of them had come out in high school, except to each other. It was a bond forged in the worst of circumstances, but it was familiar. The band had been Scorpia’s idea after school, just to stay somehow connected. 

"So, you're still thinking about her. She must have made an impression on you."

“We have plans for this weekend.”

“Oh, wow- you’re going to see her again. That’s like- a new first for you.”

Catra was going to complain, deny it, but it was true. She didn’t think she had slept with the same girl twice, let alone half a dozen times, let alone two weekends in a row. “I should probably end it and save her the heartbreak.” She pulled out her phone, resolved to do it right there and then.

Scorpia stopped her, physically restraining her hand. “Woh there. This is good for you. You sure you want to end it so fast?”

Catra's face was a contorted mess of anger and frustration. “NO, you idiot! I don’t want to end it. That’s the problem!”

People in the other booths turned to look, and Scorpia waved and smiled to calm them down.

Catra switched, wanting to prove she could hold it together for one fucking conversation. She whispered, “This is going to get me into trouble.”

Scorpia smiled sweetly. “Did you drink at all while you were with her?”

“What? No! Why?”

“Oh, then this is definitely good for you.” She drained another third of her milkshake.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what? You look happy- or something like happy. You actually look troubled and tortured, but I mean, isn’t that what it looks like when you’re pining?”

Catra grunted. “I am not pining.” 

Scorpia winked. “Sure, you’re not. You just sigh every time you say her name, and that’s totally normal.”

“I can’t get _involved._ It’s too risky. I’m three weeks away from graduation. Getting involved means doing things together, people seeing us. Someone from the Moral Encouragement Committee would see me laughing with her and immediately report me for associating with a known gay. I’m not getting kicked out of school this close to graduation!”

“Oh, so she’s out.”

“She has a freakin’ pride flag tattooed on her shoulder. Apparently, that’s what drew her into my sights- I mean besides the hair and the body, and her blue eyes.”

Scorpia couldn’t help but smile. “Oh man, you’ve fallen head over heels for her.”

Catra couldn’t help a smirk. “Well, I’ve had her heels over my head if that’s what you mean.” 

“That’s not what I mean. I meant-”

Catra jumped as a thought popped in her head. “Shit, I almost forgot. I have to cancel our plans because of the internship.”

“You have to reschedule.”

"No, I'm going to use this as an excuse to cut her off.”

Scorpia did the thing and touched Catra’s arm caringly. “I thought we decided this was good for you, and you should see her again.”

Catra scrunched up her nose, uncomfortably squirming at the touch.

“She seems to really like you.”

“How would you know?”

“She spent all weekend with you.”

“That was her first mistake. Her second is seeing me again.”

“Can’t you just let her make this mistake then? Try it out? See where it goes?”

“It should go nowhere, but yeah sure. I’ll bang her a few more times and see if she gets tired of it.”

Scorpia gave Catra a tentative smile. “It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.”

***

Outside of milkshakes with Scorpia, her typical week was mostly homework and classes, not talking much, not doing much, and not having any relief.

In the middle of the blur that was class, Catra got an email from Ms. Weaver about the internship, with an attachment that contained the dress code. Catra read through it, her skin prickling with anger with each bullet point. Just more levels of control over her life.

Catra pulled out her phone as the professor droned on about foreign markets. She was going to have to tell Adora that their breakfast plans would have to change. Might as well be now.

Catra: Hey Adora

Adora: Hey!

Thought I wouldn’t hear from you for a while

Catra: Well then

I have two surprises for you

Adora: Two?

Catra: One is this text 

and the other is 

I’m going to have to reschedule our thing on Saturday

Adora: Oh

Catra: I’m starting an internship

I’ll be free after 5

Wanna catch dinner?

Catra’s brain tried to protest. _What are you doing? Dinner? Are you mad? There are so many things wrong with this. I can’t believe you’re thinking about it. What if the committee finds you? What if she thinks this is something more than just a booty call? This is going to blow up in your face._ Catra pushed the thoughts aside.

Adora: fishing?

Catra: No dumbass

Dinner

Dinner out

With me

Catra stared at the screen, focusing on what this girl was going to say—her heart beating against her ribs.

Adora: a date?

Catra: a dinner

probably sex

Adora: yes

Sounds fun

Catra: I’ll get you the details later

Dopamine flooded Catra’s brain. It even made her skin feel electric. This moment was the kind of sweet goodness she always missed. It was better than drinking. This shit was addictive. Maybe a dinner date was setting the bar too high. She should probably reserve a table at Olive Garden or Red Lobster to keep Adora from thinking this was anything other than casual. 

The idea of getting some fancy place, blowing Olympian Adora out of the water with her fancy new job, and new money, was strong. Her brain stopped. She had forgotten to ask if it was a paid internship. Shit.

***

Friday night was a wash. She still got dressed. Still performed, but had to refuse all the drinks offered and frankly, all the girls too. She just didn’t have time. She was already worried about sleeping in and being late for work. She didn’t need a distraction to make that more likely.

Saturday morning, at 7:30 am sharp, Catra sat in the waiting room of her new boss’s office dressed in a simple brown suit with a tan vest, white shirt, her hair straightened, and every stupid thing on Ms. Weaver’s list checked off. Two hours later, and Catra dying of boredom, she was ushered into Hordak’s main office.

He was an immaculately dressed man who showed no emotion as she walked in.

He motioned toward the seat set before his desk. “Catra, I’ve heard good things about you.”

She forced a smile. Like she could believe Ms. Weaver would say anything good about her.

“I’m very serious about my employees, and I never hire anyone without trailing them first. Your trial will be this internship. I hire the best, and I pay exceptionally well. I expect loyalty, dedication, and above all, immaculate attention to detail.”

“I won’t disappoint you, sir.”

He smiled, which was not as relaxing as it should have been. “Octavia will give you a rundown of your tasks, but I have another slightly abnormal request.”

Catra couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow.

“My little brother just started working here and is new to the city. Could you perhaps, show him around some of the more moral and pure entertainment venues, of which I am sure you are amply familiar.”

Why in the world was the world conspiring against her? “What day, sir? Today?”

“No. Not today. Thursday, after your classes, of course.”

Catra gritted her teeth, while still trying to keep the smile on her face. This job was going to eat up every once of her free time, but it wasn’t interfering with her dinner plans. “Absolutely.”

His smile looked near evil. “I’m glad you are agreeable. I will mark this down as you being flexible.” His smile was gone too quickly. “Now, get out of my sight. Octavia will provide you with my little brother's contact information.”

Catra was sent out and introduced to Octavia. Octavia dressed in high heels and a skirt that had to be just barely long enough for the dress code. Catra could tell immediately they weren’t going to get along. “This is your work station. Here are the files. Your job is to input the files into the computer in our system. Any questions?”

The answer was no. It was a simple, easy job. Oh, but there was one question. “Do you know if this is a paid internship or an unpaid internship.”

Octavia developed what could only be called an evil smile. “It’s paid. Stop by HR on your way out.”

Catra couldn’t help but ask. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“Because this is how they get you. You’ll get paid a lot. It will be more than you ever thought you were worth, but there's a reason you get paid so much. I just love watching interns learn the price of that paycheck.”

Catra looked back at her work, then back at Octavia. Something wasn’t adding up. “It doesn’t look hard.”

“Oh, that’s not.” She started to leave the cubical but stopped to offer, “Don’t worry, you’ll see.” 

As Octavia left, Catra clenched her fists, and it took everything not to claw her eyes out. Why not just say it? Why the whole ‘you’ll see’ bit?

Catra focused back on her computer, the cursor blinking to mock her. She took a breath, got the first file, and resolved to give this the same treatment as every other fucking part of her life. She’d figure out the essential elements, do that, and drop everything else.

***

Her back hurt. Her hands hurt. Her eyes hurt. How many had she done? The hours felt like days. She felt like it had been a week. She checked her computer’s clock. It was only 11 am. How is the time going so slow?!

She resolved not to look at the clock and failed at 12:30 pm. A quick bite from the vending machine and she was back at it. This time, she failed not to look at 1 pm. UGH!

Was this the only task they needed? Was there nothing else? At this point, the stupid outing with the boss’s little brother would have been preferable. She spent all day training her fingers and eyes. They could do the job on their own. She needed her brain to go somewhere else, to think about something else. 

The only thing that it managed to materialize was Adora. What must she be doing right now? Getting ready? Was she excited? She would be that dumbass—that beautiful dumb ass. 

She checked the clock, and it was 4 pm. SHIT! How long had she been thinking about Adora? She looked around her work station, the stack of finished records piled significantly higher. She couldn’t help but smile. She could beat this. She had her strategy. Just think about Adora, and the time flew by. The smallest bit of a warning started to well up in her brain, but she squashed it. There was no time for panicking about feelings. This was about survival. If daydreaming about Adora meant the hours passed like minutes, then daydream away.

At 5 pm, on the dot, she closed up and headed to HR to get her check, and found herself staring at it for ten minutes afterward. Octavia was right. It was a lot for what she had done. Her first thought was getting a nice restaurant, and pay for Adora’s whole meal. That thought made her weak.

The HR rep politely asked, “Is there something more you need, honey?”

Catra came back to her senses. “No. I just- I had a dinner planned, but I didn’t realize I’d have this much. I think it’s too late to get reservations anywhere I could use this.”

“Oh! I can help with that.”

Catra looked up. “What?”

“Hordak has a few tables on reserve at some of the best places in town. He can only use one each night, so the others are available. Do you want me to reserve one for you?”

Catra felt weird, and the word yes came out very slow because she was unsure.

“No problem. How many will be there?”

“Two.”

“And is this for business or pleasure?”

Catra’s whole body felt hot. “Pleasure.”

She gave Catra a knowing smile, and asked, “And do you prefer Italian, French, Asian Fusion, snout to tail, farm to table, snout to tail and farm to table, or something else?”

“How many places does he have on reserve?”

“I can’t answer that question, but I will need you to answer mine.”

Catra had no idea what Adora liked, so she went with the choice that had more protein, something she needed. “Snout to tail and farm to table! Why compromise, right?”

The HR lady smiled as she clicked a few options on her screen. “What time?”

“Seven?”

“Is that a question or an answer?”

“Seven.”

“Ok.” She pulled out a pad of sticky notes and scribbled the restaurant’s address and name down. “And will you need transportation?”

“Yeah, sure. Wait- what do you mean transportation?”

“Hordak has several options. Tonight, he’s taking his helicopter somewhere, so his scheduled car is available.”

“You know I'm just an intern. I don’t think I should be driving the boss’s car.”

“Oh no, you wouldn’t be driving. That would be ridiculous. It comes with a driver.”

“A driver?”

She leaned forward. “All perks are available to everyone who works for Hordak. You just have to ask.”

“Sure. Yes. I’ll take the ride.” The idea of picking Adora up in a fancy car, with a fucking driver, was too much. After a day of monotony, this was like a drug.

“Alright, everything is set up. You have the driver for the night. Dismiss the driver when you're done. You can’t keep them past midnight.”

Catra left the office a little dizzy with wonder at what had just happened. She was going to show Adora the time of her fucking life.


	3. Chapter 3

When Adora got the text from Catra telling her where they were going, she didn’t believe it. She had wanted to go to that place since she heard it existed, but it was always outside her reach. Too expensive. Too exclusive. It was the trendy down-to-earth place that everyone wanted to try. She already knew they got all their meat from a local farm specializing in the humane treatment of their livestock, that they butchered everything in-house to make the most of every part of the animal. Their vegetables were seasonal, from various small farms just outside the city, and all organic. Even their beer was brewed locally with top quality ingredients.

She had to ask once the text came through.

Adora: wow

How did you do this?

Catra: I pulled some strings

Don’t worry about it

Just hang tight

I’ll pick you up at 6:30 pm

Adora didn’t know Catra had a car.

Adora: Who are you?

Catra: Your knight in shining armor

Adora blushed. She couldn’t believe she blushed at that. She had to find something to wear. Something down to earth, to match the place they were going. Something sexy to give Catra some reward for this? She had no idea. She dug through her closet and ended up calling a friend. 

Glimmer answered. Adora didn’t bother saying hello. “I need help.”

Glimmer was a good friend, but busy these days. She still gave Adora her full attention when needed. “Do you need to get rid of a body? I know a guy.”

“No, no. I need advice on clothes.”

“Oh!”

“Look, it’s not a date, but it's like a date—a date-like thing. We’re going to this place I’ve wanted to go to for like ages. I need to look down to earth and sexy? How do I do that?”

“Flannel?”

“Glimmer!”

“Ok, nevermind. Let me think. Hm, when is it?”

“Seven.”

“So evening, at a slightly casual place that’s also super expensive?”

“Yes.”

“And you want to be sexy?”

“YES.”

“I think you’re going to have to show off that body of yours, so a skirt and a sleeveless tank? Maybe with a see-through blouse?”

“I think I have that.”

“One more question, how much do you like this girl?”

Adora stared ahead in complete bewilderment. “I don’t know. How do I know?”

“How was judo practice this morning?”

“My coach says I’m distracted.”

“Go for the boob window.”

“Boob window?”

“And, if you can manage it, a back window.”

“A what?”

“Just- the white blouse on the far left of your closet. I bought it when you weren’t paying attention for times like this to show off those muscles of yours. You’ll exude farm girl while also being a lady killer.”

“Oh.. ok.” Adora found the shirt. “Thanks- When did you get this? How much was it?”

“Ok, I’m going to let you go. I have to work on something. Bye Adora! Good luck!” Glimmer hung up before Adora could get another word in.

***

Catra didn’t know what to think when the car showed up at her apartment. They hadn’t told her it was a limo. She got in, and immediately realized she was probably going to be sending the wrong signals to Adora. Limos didn't scream casual relationship. That said, neither did taking her out to the fancy restaurant. She tried to shake it out of her head as she tousled her hair. Well, tough. She couldn’t change it now.

Adora’s apartment building was stupidly close to hers. Just a few blocks down on the other side of a park. Adora had no idea, and Catra intended to keep it that way.

When they pulled up, Catra kicked the door open and gave Adora a deadly smirk. “Get in, Princess.”

Adora stood in shock, her mouth falling open before she remembered to close it. In a daze, she climbed in and sank into Catra’s side as Catra put her arm around her shoulders. The driver moved the car forward. 

“A limo?” Adora asked.

Catra shrugged. “Just one of the perks of being important.”

Adora couldn’t help but smile. “This is crazy. First, the restaurant, then this.” She looked Catra over, “And you’re wearing a suit? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you liked me.”

“This is not because I like you. This is just who I am. Any girl I’d have gone out with tonight would have gotten this exact setup. Don’t let it go to your head, Princess.”

All the blustery talk and Adora saw straight through it. “And you’ve started calling me princess. That’s different.”

“Again, no, it’s not. It’s all in your head. I call every hookup princess. I’ll prove it to you.”

“How?”

Catra kissed her, and Adora moaned, leaning into it before Catra pulled away. “Princess.” She paused, letting it sink in before saying, “See? Called a hookup Princess.”

Adora rolled her eyes. “So, how was this new internship today?”

Catra considered complaining about the tedious tasks, or how she would have to take a weeknight to act as a chaperone for the boss’s brother, but she opted instead for embellishment. “Oh, it’s great. I’m dealing with a lot of important accounts.” Technically, that was probably true. All those data entry sheets were from different accounts, right?

“Like how important?”

“Oh, you know- the big investors. They don’t just let anyone deal with those.” Ok, so maybe she was going a little overboard, but what was the harm? The limo made her look important. Might as well let the story back it up. “I’ll bet your other hookups don’t have big accounts and a limo.” Catra nearly cringed at herself. She shouldn’t care what Adora’s other lovers were like, but it was an instinct to want to outclass them.

“No, they don’t, but they also don’t tend to ask about my other hookups.” Adora adjusted a little to be even closer to Catra. “If you keep this up, I might get the impression you’re jealous.”

Catra gave a fake scoff. “Oh, I’m not jealous. I don’t care who else you sleep with.” 

Adora gave Catra a knowing smile, “Oh good. Glad you still have that detachment you’ve always clung to. I was afraid you lost it.” 

Catra tried to deflect by running her fingers on Adora’s shoulder. The touch seemed to stop the conversation, as they both were far too distracted by how soft and affectionate it was.

That touch made Adora think of high school, and how she dreamed of this kind of intimacy with Catra. She hadn’t been ready to think of anything beyond just touching. The desire was usually strongest when Catra came over to hang out after school with her sketchbook. She often asked Adora to model for her. The thought of it made Adroa’s heart race. Just being under the gaze of those eyes, knowing Catra was looking at her in such an intimate way, it had been too intense for her young self. “I’ve meant to ask you, do you still draw?”

Catra was not expecting that. “I mean, kind of. I doodle in my notebook for class. Nothing serious.”

Adora’s shoulders fell as she realized, probably, she wasn’t going to get to play out a fantasy. “I loved your work. If I could draw like you, I’d be doing it all the time.”

“Look, between school and the band, I’ve got to prioritize my pleasure time. It’s either drawing stupid pictures or sleeping with hot women.” Catra let her fingernails skim slightly on Adora’s shoulder, to accentuate her point. 

“Maybe you should sleep around less and draw more.”

Before Catra could protest, the car stopped, and the driver informed them they had arrived. The driver parked the car and got up to open the door.

The moment the door opened, Catra backed away from Adora and climbed out independently.

Adora felt a weird sense of loss as Catra moved on without her. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but she wasn’t expecting the close physical contact to end. She climbed out and tried to catch up as Catra bolted toward the door.

They were seated at a round table with a mason jar with a candle in it as the centerpiece. Diagrams hung on the walls of animals with their butchery lines marked on them and various sections of meat labeled. Adora stared at all of it.

“Order anything you want. It’s all on me,” Catra said as she perused the menu. With the big fat check sitting in her bank account, Adora could order half the menu.

“Are you sure?”

“It’s my treat. A thank you for last weekend. It was refreshing.”

Adora got that dopy adorable grin that she couldn’t help, and she reached forward to touch Catra’s hand.

Catra moved her hand before Adora’s could make contact, faking a shift to look at the menu better. Adora backed off, her face betraying her slight confusion.

The waiter appeared, and Catra ordered the most expensive things on the menu to show Adora what was up. Something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. Someone entered the restaurant. Her blood ran cold as she recognized the hair, the glasses, of the President of the Moral Enforcement Committee. Shit.

As Adora ordered, Catra’s eyes fell on her shoulder tattoo. Her hand thrummed nervously on the table before she sprang up and ripped her coat off. “You look cold.” She moved fast to throw the blazer over Adora’s shoulders just before the President of the M.E.C. turned a scrutinizing eye their way. Catra quickly sat back down, intentionally ignoring the judging eyes on her. _Act casual_ , her brain told her. She could feel his eyes on her for a few beats before he looked away and headed to his table. Shit. He was there to eat.

Adora had a blank expression as she realized the coat was around her. “I’m not cold.”

“Yeah, you are. I could see the goosebumps on your arm.” Catra’s voice was shaky.

“Are you ok? You look on edge.”

“I just saw someone from college. Just- you know- don’t want anyone getting any ideas.”

Adora’s brow furrowed. “Catra, are you-” She leaned in and whispered as she realized she didn’t know how far their voices would carry. “- not out yet?”

Catra chuckled nervously. “Sort of- I mean- no. I go to a pretty conservative college.”

Adora’s shoulders feel. “Oh. I guess I just assumed-”

Catra glared at her. “We can’t all just go out and get pride tattoos and flaunt it, Adora.”

Adora stared at the table, not wanting Catra to see how sad she felt.

Immediate guilt plagued Catra for her tone. She was trying to show Adora a good time, not make her sad. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would come up.”

“This whole time, I thought you had escaped too, but you’re still in it.” She moved to make sure the jacket around her shoulders didn’t fall. “I’m sorry. I should have worn something that would hide this.”

Catra put up her hands. “It’s ok. I didn’t tell you. It’s not your fault. I didn’t even think about it till I saw Mr. Rules over there.”

Adora glanced back at who she assumed was the person.

“A few more weeks and I’ll be out as much as I want. Don’t worry about it.”

Adora looked back to Catra, just as the food arrived. “I’ll try not to.” She turned her eyes to her food.

Catra noticed Adora’s hesitation. “Hey, if it bothers you, we can leave.” She paused and poked at her expensive food. “Or, you know, I could drop you off back at home.”

Adora smiled. “Please don’t. I’ve been waiting for months to try this place.” She got a good bite on her fork and put it in her mouth. Everything else went right out of her brain as she savored the mix of flavors. She closed her eyes, leaning back in the chair.

Catra watched in fascination, thinking nothing but impure thoughts about how the ecstasy Adora was in mirrored last weekend. Catra was almost jealous of the food. “Does it live up to the hype?”

Adora finished chewing and opened her eyes. “That’s amazing,” she said as she dove in for another bite.

Catra couldn’t help but smile as Adora lost all formality and started eating like she was starving. If Mr. Rules weren't there, she would have moved her chair to sit next to Adora and teased her the whole time. Stupid flirty shit, like feeding her food, or using her thumb to get a crumb off Adora’s mouth. The possibilities should have been endless, like some weird form of public PG-rated foreplay. Instead, she was stuck on the wrong side of the table, and the object of her affection had to contend with a jacket on her shoulders that didn’t quite fit. Catra resolved to make it up to Adora and herself later.

***

The driver got a text to come to pick up the new employee at the restaurant. He noted the time in his email draft, which already had the restaurant’s name and the address of the other girl. He had spent the hour looking up her apartment building and had jotted down a description of his second passenger. 

When the new employee and her assumed date got back in the car, he noted in his report that they started making out the moment the door was closed. He rolled up the privacy window between the driver’s seat and the back.

He drove back to the apartment, and both of his passengers got out. The new employee leaned into the window to tell him he was dismissed, before turning to follow the blonde into the apartment building. He waited to see what apartment's lights lit up. Top floor. Loft on the corner. He quickly finished up his report and emailed it to Prime. Easiest money of the week. As he drove off, he felt a pang of guilt. She had no idea who she was dealing with, poor girl.

At that moment, Catra was dealing with Adora. Dealing with her lips, and the seemingly complicated way her clothes were layered. Catra had spent hours smelling her, talking, laughing, and not touching her at all. Now the pull was too strong. She wanted her hands never to leave Adora’s skin. It was impossible to resist now that they were alone. 

Once they were in the apartment with the door closed, she kissed Adora and grabbed her desperately. Holding themselves back for so long was tiring, like holding a muscle, and they both wanted to let go.

Under the onslaught of Catra’s hands and mouth, Adora helped get her sheer cover off, worried that it might get ripped to shreds with the way they were pawing each other. She dropped her skirt.

Catra felt a jolt of electricity go down her spine to her core. A fire lit, and she burned like a furnace. She wanted Adora horizontal as fast as possible, and Adora was pliant. 

Adora struggled to get the new, unfamiliar shirt off as Catra guided her to the bed. “This thing. I don’t know where the clasps are.”

Catra felt around the back of it and found the clasp. She tried to undo it. “How in the world did you get this thing on by yourself?” Her nail caught something, and she pulled. The clasp broke, and the shirt came off. “Problem solved. I’ll pay for it later.” She still had enough sitting in her bank account that it practically begged Catra to destroy all of Adora’s clothes. She gently pushed Adora onto the bed.

Adora worked to get her bra off in the frantic action, realizing that if she didn’t, it would end up like the shirt, and that bra was expensive. The moment it was off, Catra’s mouth found her peaks, and she suckled. Every tug pulled Adora in deeper and deeper.

Catra lost herself in the taste, in the feel of Adora’s body under her. It felt right. She felt whole, like a missing part of her was finally returned. It didn’t make any sense. She had countless short term lovers, and none of them had made her feel like this. She felt like she was going to burst. She took off her suit coat if only to allow more movement.

Adora’s hands moved around Catra’s shirt, trying to find the buttons. Catra blocked her attempts with a kiss.

“You need to get undressed,” Adora breathed against the kiss.

“Not tonight. Staying clothed is a power play” She attacked Adora's skin with her teeth.

Adora’s nails dug into the shoulders of Catra’s shirt as the sharp sensation of teeth made her breath hitch. Power play, huh. Adora got her knee under Catra's leg, and in a quick motion, hoisted Catra up with her arms pushing her shoulders, and her knee pushing gently into her crotch. Adora smirked as Catra struggled to regain her position. 

"I get it! You're strong. Put me down!"

"Not till you take off your shirt."

Catra struggled, but the position of Adora's knee was making her movements work against her. It felt good. Adora could tell, so she moved a little so Catra would be on her thigh.

Catra moaned and tried to protest. "We're not teenagers. I'm not going to dry hump your leg."

Adora looked smug. "Your right; you’re not, but only after you take off your shirt. Or maybe you want me to rip it off like you did mine." She accentuated her words with a movement of her leg that elicited another moan from Catra.

"No! I'm in charge here! Who paid for dinner?"

"All the better reason for me to be allowed to thank you probably."

Catra waited, wanting to think of something to get the upper hand, but her brain wasn’t fully working with her current position. "Fine!"

Adora let Catra down, and Catra sat up on her knees to pull her shirt out of her pants and start undoing the buttons, all while watching Adora watch her unblinking. She would never admit to Adora how much this turned her on. Her shirt slipped off her shoulders, and she tossed it aside. "Happy?"

"Almost," Adora pushed herself up so she could give Carta's chest her lips. She kissed her between her small but perfect breasts. Adora's hands found the front of Catra's pants.

"I was supposed to top. I have a reputation to uphold," Catra said in fake disappointment. 

"I won't tell anyone." Adora unzipped Catra's pants and pulled them down enough to get full access for her fingers.

Catra couldn't break her concentration on Adora. The sensory overload, with her touch, was all she could manage. Catra made up for it by biting gently on Adora's neck. She was going to devour her if she wasn’t careful.

“You’re not breathing,” Adora said as she kept servicing, her face awash with the beauty of what was happening.

Catra took a gasp, realizing that Adora had been right; she had forgotten to breathe. Adora leaned in to kiss Catra at the base of her neck, and her other hand found the stiff peaks of Catra’s chest.

Catra leaned back, opening herself to the waves of sensation crashing against her, her eyes closed so she could focus on it. Everything went out of her head. There was no hint of the critical voice. No warnings. It was just a sea of the motion Adora provided. She lost track of time. It could have been minutes or hours, or years.

Adora was mesmerized by the sounds Catra made as she lost herself.

Catra’s lovers usually weren’t this generous. It was all so much at once. She screamed when she came, and collapsed onto Adora, knocking her onto her back. 

Adora smiled and petted the back of Catra’s hair. “Good one?”

“I can’t hear you,” Catra mumbled as she breathed fast and deep. “My ears are ringing.”

***

Catra’s mind drifted back to that after dinner tryst many times the next day. She would have happily spent all weekend in Adora’s arms if she didn’t need to show up for practice at least once.

Lonnie waved her hand in front of Catra’s face to get her attention. “What’s the point of coming to practice if you can’t even focus?”

Catra shrugged. It was an obligation, like everything else in her life at the moment.

“Just give your guitar to Kyle. If you’re not going to practice, then at least let him.”

Catra was happy to oblige. She handed it off and tried not to cringe while he butchered it. He was getting better, but it was slow progress. “You can borrow it this week so you can practice more regularly, ” She said casually.

Lonnie pulled up a chair and turned it around so she could straddle it facing Catra. “You’re acting weird. What’s with the sudden lack of focus and the sudden generosity?”

Scorpia answered loudly, “Do you guys remember Adora from High School?”

Lonnie’s eyebrows raised. “What about her?”

Scorpia smiled wide and pointed to Catra.

Lonnie’s eyes went big. “YOU and Adora?”

Catra couldn’t help the smug look on her face.

Scorpia cut in. “They’ve been sorta seeing each other for a few weekends, right Catra?”

“We’re not ‘seeing each other’; we’re fucking. There’s a difference.”

Lonnie’s fists clenched. “I can’t believe she’s into girls, and before I even get a chance, you sweep in and claim her? That’s bullshit.”

“Finders keepers.”

Scorpia looked too happy. “Oh, so are you guys getting serious?”

“No. It’s just a physical thing. She can’t get enough of me.” Catra leveled that last line looking straight at Lonnie, reveling in the woman’s growing frustration.

Lonnie stood up and pushed the chair over to get away. “I can’t believe this shit.” She got up and went toward her keys.

“Where are you going?” Scorpia asked.

“To go update my dating profile before Catra gets dibs on every girl in the city.”

Kyle got up with the guitar tight in his hands. “Wait for me!”

Rogelio rolled his eyes but got up to follow.

“Oh, come on! You can’t just leave practice because you’re jealous,” Catra said as much to taunt her as it was to convince her to stay.

“Like hell, I can’t.” Lonnie slammed the door as she left, the others following quickly behind.

Scorpia sighed and switched off her keyboard. “Another practice ruined.”

“This time, it’s not my fault.”

Scorpia’s smile came back. It was never really that far. “So, do you want to talk about your new found relationship?”

“No! That’s what got us here.”

“Oh, come on. Didn’t you see her yesterday? How was it?”

Catra leaned her head in her hand. “Not great. I took her to some expensive place, but the President of the M.E.C. showed up. Kind of squashed the mood.”

“But you didn’t get caught.”

“No, but it was close.” She pulled out her phone and considered opening the messaging app. “I’m so close. Just a few more weeks. Why did this have to happen now? If I met her next month, this wouldn’t be a problem.”

“You could cool it for a few weeks. I’m sure she would understand.”

Catra had a sad look on her face. “I should... I don’t know if I can.”

“I think you’ve got feelings for this girl,” Scorpia said as she got up and, with a few quick motions, folded the legs on her keyboard.

“I don’t have feelings for anyone. She’s just a good lay. Better than I’ve ever had.”

“You know, they say it’s different with someone you love.”

Catra shot Scorpia a sharp look. “How dare you use the L-word.”

Scorpia balanced the keyboard on her shoulder like it was nothing. “Look, Wildcat, we can all tell you feel something for her. Even if it’s just lust, it’s something. It may be hard for the squad to show it, but we’re happy you have this.”

“Yeah, Lonnie seemed so fucking supportive.”

"She didn't punch you. That's progress." Scorpia tapped her foot and gave Catra a once-over. "I know you’re not used to the stuff you're feeling for this girl. Try not to freak out and push her away like you do everyone else, ok?”

Catra didn’t react.

“Have you told her about the scholarship?”

“Not exactly. She knows I have one.”

“So, you haven’t told her anything about all the rules?”

“No.”

“You should tell her that stuff, at least. She needs to know if only so she can be careful.”

“Sure, MOM, I’ll get right on that.”

“Great!”

Catra was not going to get right on that. The idea of telling Ms. Pride the fucked up conditions of her education made her feel sick.

Her phone got her attention with a buzz and a ding. An email came in from Octavia with Hordak’s little brother’s contact information. “Hey, one question.”

Scorpia was eager. “Anything for you?”

“Do you know of any wholesome fun spots? Something the M.E.C. would approve of that isn’t totally boring?”

“For Adora?”

“No. Something for work.”

Scorpia pouted, obviously disappointed in the answer. “I don’t know. There’s not much in this city besides bars and museums. I guess there’s the amusement park on the boardwalk.”

“Perfect. I’ll take him there.”

“Him?”

“The boss’s younger brother needs a guide to show him the wholesome spots in town. I figure the milkshake shop isn’t going to cut it.”

Scorpia tilted her head. “Is this a date you’re going on? For work?”

“No. Just a favor. Like a tour guide or something.”

“That’s highly unusual, isn’t it?”

Catra shrugged. “They don’t pay me the big bucks for nothing.”

***

Hordak’s little brother, so fresh in the big city, was a mess. Hordak granted the use of his car again, and the young man just plastered his face to the window and watched the big buildings in wonder.

“So, what’s your name?”

“William Hordak, but everyone in my family calls me Wrong.” He looked at her with a bright smile and a wink.

She cringed. “That’s the weirdest nickname I’ve ever heard. Must be a story behind it.” She was trying desperately for small talk.

“Because they think I’m wrong for the family, I guess. They say it to be mean, but I think they’re right. I am wrong for them, so I use the name myself to steal their thunder.” His wrist went limp as he gestured, and she got the idea. He recognized that she got it, and he smiled. “I guess it’s nice to be seen. I spend most of my time hiding it.”

She didn’t want to say, me too.

“Do you, uh, know any gay bars?” He asked sheepishly.

She rubbed her temples. “Yes, but your brother told me not to take you anywhere unwholesome.”

“Oh, I know that, but can you at least tell me their names so I can look them up later? I’m not always so strictly watched.”

She understood that. “Yeah, sure. There are three nice ones. Heaven, Luxor, and Pink.”

His eyes shimmered with happiness. “Thank you! I won’t tell my brother, although it is fortunate for me that he sent you.”

He was getting the wrong idea. "I don't go to any of those or anything. They’re just on the list of prohibited places for school.” She didn’t need to tell him the truth about her persona, the band, and the bars they toured on the regular.

"Are you sure we can't stop by one? Pretty please."

“Look, I have to take you somewhere safe so your brother will see I’m doing what I’m told.”

Wrong Hordak sighed and leaned his head against his hand in the window. “Fine. Whatever boring place we have to go to appease big brother.”

Catra had already given the driver the address for the amusement park on the beach. It was at least colorful with lights in the dark as the sunset, and they could waste the rest of the day there and get out of the stuffy car.

Catra used a company card to get in, and Wrong Hordak went immediately to the games while Catra sat on a bench and watched. There was no reason to pretend they were there to talk. It was just about wasting time to appease the family. Catra got that innately. Sometimes there were just things you had to do to keep people off your back. She leaned her arms on the back of the bench, tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and wondered how long this would take.

She heard someone walking up behind her.

“So, how’s the date going?” Asked a familiar voice.

Catra opened her eyes and found Adora’s lovely blue eyes hovering over her. 

She smiled. “Are you stalking me?”

“No. I’m here with my friends.” Adora pointed a thumb back at the water shooting game where a short thick girl with pink hair was screaming about missing, and a guy with a crop top tried to console her. Adora turned back to Catra. “Who’s your date? He looks nice.”

Catra winced. “It’s a business assignment. Boss’s little brother needs to be shown around town.”

Adora got a mischievous look on her face. “Are you into him?"

Catra took a deep breath and faced away as she said, “I don’t appreciate your teasing me.”

Adora got in close, putting her lips near Catra’s ear. “It’s pretty obvious he’s a friend of Mara.”

“He’s supposed to be hiding it.”

“It’s hard to hide who you are.” Adora gave Catra a smug smile.

She had to turn back at that and glare Adora down. “Can you leave me to do my job in peace?”

Adora stood up and shrugged. “If that’s what you want. Or, you know, we could hang out with your new friend. He’ll probably like my friends. They’re his people. Glimmer and Bow are raging bisexuals, so he has one thing in common with them. They're all, a little or a lot, interested in men.”

Catra flexed her hands, her nails digging into her palms. “I’m supposed to be showing him a wholesome view of what to do in the city.”

“And who’s to say making some new friends with similar interest isn’t wholesome?”

“You’re dangerous, you know that?”

Adora flexed. “Danger is my middle name.” She stopped flexing. “No, the funny thing about that is that it literally is. I legally changed it after running away.”

Catra stared at her wide-eyed and in aw. “You didn’t!”

Adora broke into a wide smile. “No, but I considered it. It turns out, it’s like a hundred and fifty dollars. Just wasn’t worth it for the joke.”

Catra smiled at the duffus before her and felt an odd warmth. Talking like this felt familiar. It felt weirdly like home, which was an unfamiliar sensation.

Adora saw Catra’s pseudo date headed back. “What could it hurt? It’s not like anyone is watching.”

Catra sighed as Wrong Hordak came back and smiled up at Adora. “Who’s your friend?” He asked sweetly.

Adora threw out her hand. “Adora, I’m one of Catra’s old friends from high school.”

He shook her hand eagerly. “A pleasure making your acquaintance. Call me Wrong Hordak,” he winked.

“Wow, that’s an interesting name. I was just asking Catra if you wanted to hang out with my friends and me. We’d love to have the company.” She pointed back to the water game.

He took one look at Glimmer’s purple and pink outfit, and the giant heart on Bow’s chest and midriff showing and declared, “It would be a delight.” He squealed as Adora led him away.

Catra got up to follow and surveyed the area for any sign of the committee. When it seemed like the coast was clear, she went to follow Adora and felt fuzzy inside. Had she been rescued from a boring fake date? _My hero_ , she thought to herself.

Adora, her arm around Wrong Hordak, introduced him to the group. Bow and Glimmer shook his hand.

“And this is an old friend from high school, Catra.”

Catra waved halfheartedly, earning a glare from Glimmer. “Oh, so you're from that terrible high school Adora ran away from?”

Catra rolled her eyes and folded her arms. She should have expected this. “Yeah, what’s it to you?”

Glimmer put her fists on her hips and leaned in. “Do you know how much therapy she had to go through?”

Adora pushed herself between them. “Glimmer, it’s not Catra’s fault my high school sucked. She was one of the better parts of it. Now, let’s focus on having a good time, ok?”

Glimmer huffed and turned away.

Bow held out his hand, “It’s good to meet another one of Adora’s friends finally.”

Catra shook his hand. “Same.”

Adora couldn’t stop smiling. “What do you all say to darts! The loser gets everyone else cotton candy!”

The whole group, sans Catra, cheered. They trudged off toward the game.

A few hours later, after they had eaten their fill of cotton candy and funnel cake, the group had settled on a picnic table overlooking the water. The sun had set, and the vigorous competition had worn them all out. Catra took it all in for a moment, thinking the only thing that would have made it better would have been to put her arm around Adora. The pull was strong, but her sense of self-preservation was stronger.

“I’m going to go get some drinks. Anyone want to come with me?” Bow announced as he stood up.

“I would be honored to help my fellow brothers and sisters,” Wrong Hordak said as he jumped up. They were gone in a flash, laughing and talking amongst themselves.

Glimmer sighed and watched as they left.

“What’s wrong with you?” Catra asked bluntly.

Adora hummed a bit before offering, “She has a crush on Bow, but she's not doing anything about it.”

Glimmer covered her face in her hands. “It’s not that easy. We’ve been friends for a long time. It’s weird to feel like this.”

Catra felt Adora’s thigh brush her’s under the table, and immediately felt like she understood that feeling.

The wind changed directions, and Catra recognized a scent. A whiff of strawberry and vanilla, mixed with Glimmer’s color scheme, and a faint sheen of body glitter on her face, dug something out of Catra’s memory. It was fuzzy at first, but then with fantastic veracity, it snapped into perfect focus. Catra’s eyes went wide, and she smiled, trying to act normal.

Adora noticed. “Are you ok?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

Glimmer took her head out of her hands and sighed. “It’s fine. I’ll get the courage to do it someday.”

Adora cut in. “He’s not going to wait around for you forever.”

Glimmer shrugged. “I just don't want to ruin our friendship.” She looked up at Catra and squinted. “You know, in this light, you look kind of familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?”

Catra’s heart was racing, and she hoped her hot face didn’t mean she was blushing. “No. I don’t think so.”

“There’s just something about you-”

Catra’s brain betrayed her, instantly replaying the hookup with the girl who smelled like baked goods and left a shocking amount of glitter all over her body. It had taken days to wash it all off. It had been one hell of a night. It took weeks for the bruises and scratches to heal. _What have I done to deserve this_?

“No, I would have remembered your eyes. Those are distinctive.”

Saved again by that stupid contact lense. “They sure are.” Catra glanced at Adora, waiting in anticipation to see if the girl caught on. Adora had no idea. 

_Oh, thank goodness_ , Catra thought as she relaxed. She watched Glimmer sigh and pine. The woman sitting in front of her seemed to be a stark contrast to the assertive in-charge person she slept with that night months ago. She remembered Glimmer issuing commands, making demands. Love must suck if it could turn someone like that into a wishy-washy mess who couldn’t ask someone out. Catra took it as a personal warning.

Glimmer went on. “Anyway, I tried to talk to him about it while we were doing karaoke last week, but it just didn’t feel right.”

Adora leaned forward on the table, “It’s never going to feel right. Just go for it.”

“I can’t help but think, what if it goes bad? Do I want to put what I have in danger by trying to start something else? Why would I risk it?”

Adora jumped on that. “Because you’ll be left wondering what you missed out on.”

Under the table, Adora’s leg moved closer to Catra, either on purpose or not. Catra could think of nothing else except the contact, and it’s warmth.

Glimmer’s shoulders drooped. “Easy for you to say. I don’t think you’ve hesitated on anything in your life.”

Adora shrugged. “If you want, I can ask him out for you.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes. “Please don’t. I can do this. I just need time.”

Catra smiled deviously, and offered, “Just take charge and order him to date you. There, problem solved.”

Glimmer shifted uncomfortably and turned her glare to Catra. “So what’s your deal? Did you and Adora date in high school or something?”

Both Adora and Catra spat out various no’s and, we were just friends. Adora moved her leg away from Catra’s, and Catra’s heart sank. Adora offered, “Catra’s not- you know-”

Catra should have known this was coming. She had to be sitting at a table with two women she had slept with and say, “Oh no, I’m strai-” her mouth went dry, and she went into a coughing fit.

Adora put her hand on Catra’s back, patting it to ease the cough. Just another touch that made Catra warm. 

Glimmer watched with an eyebrow lifted. “I’m sorry. I just assumed-”

Catra recovered. “No, It’s fine.”

“You know your date is gay,” Glimmer folded her arms.

Catra glared at her and said mockingly, “Oh no, I had no idea. Where will my future babies come from?” She paused and glared at the girl, “Yeah, no duh, Sparkles. This is not a date. It’s an assignment from work.”

“That’s a bit weird, right? Where do you work? An escort service?”

Catra nearly stood up and tackled her, but Adora put a hand on her shoulder and calmed her down with a smile. “Don’t let Glimmer get on your nerves. She’s just blunt, except when it comes to Bow.”

Glimmer groaned. “Can you leave it alone?” She looked up to see the two boys returning and leaned in to whisper to Adora sternly. “Not another word! If you say anything on my behalf, I will not be responsible for my actions.”

Bow and Wrong Hordak were laughing at a newly created inside joke when they got back, sat down, and passed out cups of drinks to those at the table. Bow beamed. “So it turns out Wrong and I are both interested in the maker movement. I’ve invited him to our local club.”

Wrong Hordak faced Catra, giddy. “We’ve exchanged contacts so I can attend a meeting.” He winked.

Catra rolled her eyes. At least Wrong could go back to his brother, and instead of saying he got integrated into the LGBT culture of the area, he could say he wanted to build robots. As she watched him easily fall into conversation with Adora, and Glimmer, she felt dull jealousy. It must be nice just to be yourself. She found herself staring at Adora, missing the warmth of her leg, and wondering how her friends would have reacted if they knew.

Catra’s phone buzzed, and she recognized her alarm. “Hey, Wrong. It’s time to head out. Octavia told me to get you back before ten.”

Bow looked sad. “You have a curfew?”

With a smile, Wrong Hordak got up. “It’s been an honor meeting you all. I hope we can hang out again.”

Catra stood up too, and so did Adora. With a smile, Adora said, “I’ll walk you guys out.”

Bow started to stand up, but Adora put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him down. “Don’t get up. I’ll be right back. We still have to go on some rides.” Adora gave Glimmer a knowing glance and a wink, and Glimmer glared at her with seething rage.

Adora grabbed Wrong and Catra, and started heading toward the exit.

“Playing matchmaker?” Catra said as she looked back. Glimmer was staring daggers at the back of Adora’s head.

“Giving them time alone,” Adora said with a smile.

As they got to the parking lot, Catra told Wrong to go ahead to the car. She’d catch up. He went on, and she stopped Adora with a slight touch to the shoulder. “I owe you one.”

Adora beamed. “You don't owe me anything. This was just a hangout.”

“You made the evening less boring, and- I don’t know-” 

Adora bumped Catra’s shoulder gently, affectionately. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Glimmer can be a handful.”

“Don’t I know it,” Catra said to herself.

“What?”

“Nothing. Forget it.” Catra pulled away, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. “I’ll see you Saturday night.” They hadn’t made definite plans. Catra realized she had just assumed they’d see each other. When did that happen? When did she switch to assuming?

A soft smile spread on Adora’s face. “Are you going to try to sweep me off my feet again with a fancy meal, or are you going to be normal and come over and Netflix and chill?”

Catra smiled, sticking her hands in her pockets to avoid trying to hold Adora’s hand. “We’ll see how I feel in the moment.” She paused, wanting to do something more. Instead, she said a quick goodbye and pivoted to walk away. She didn’t want to have to look into those big blue eyes anymore. Parting at all was getting painful.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, the angst.

In full makeup, and costume, instead of drinking between sets that Friday, Catra tried to finish an assignment. Nothing like trying to write a paper in the middle of a dark and loud bar.

Scorpia pulled up a chair and sat in front of her. “You look busy.”

“A good reason to leave me alone.”

“But being busy is good, right? You’ve not been drinking like you were. You’re getting stuff done.” She beamed with pride. “My little Wildcat is maybe a little less wild. Did Adora tame you?”

Catra felt like chucking her laptop at her tall friend. “I’m so close. I can walk barefoot through Hell if it means I’ll be free.”

“I could stand in for singing for the rest of the set if you need me to,” Scorpia offered with a blush.

“You guys still need a guitarist.”

“Kyle’s been practicing a lot since you lent him your guitar. He’s not as good as you, but we can manage. I'll bring it back to you tomorrow."

Catra winced but scanned the bar. It was a slow night. Most of the college students in town were also busy with end of the semester assignments. If there were ever going to be a night that Kyle could get some experience on stage, this would be it. “You think the others would be ok with that?”

“I’ll talk to them. You go home and finish this assignment.” She leaned in and winked, “So you can see your friend again this weekend.”

Catra folded her laptop. “Thanks. I might have to do it again next Friday, but after that, I’m back on. We might even be able to get a few more gigs.” She threw everything into her backpack. “Just tell Kyle not to improvise. Stick to the plan.”

“Absolutely.”

Catra got up and pulled her backpack over her shoulder before Scorpia stopped her. 

“At some point, we’ll catch up about you and Adora.”

Catra sighed. “Why would we need to do that?”

“Because you haven't looked at anyone else since you met her.”

“So? That doesn’t mean anything.” She stuffed her laptop in her bag, trying to convince herself that what she said was true. “I really, really, have to go.” 

She left the bar in a hurry to avoid any more questions. Talking is for fools. Talking about feelings was for the insane.

She stopped by a convenience store to pick up a pack of caffeine pills. The cashier didn’t react at all to the makeup, the costume. They had seen her many a Friday night but buying alcohol with some girl on her arm. If anything, they were more shocked she asked for the caffeine pills and was alone.

She popped a few of the pills, swallowing them dry, and rushed home.

*** 

She woke up, Saturday morning, at 9:32 am, yelled a few expletives as she threw on her work clothes, and called an Uber. She chewed herself out as she got ready and waited for the car to show up. She couldn’t believe she was late on the second day of work.

Catra arrived in a frantic mess, trying to explain to Octavia that her alarm didn’t go off. Octavia didn’t look like she cared, which was weird. She just handed Catra another pile of records and left her alone.

Her back hurt, she nearly fell asleep at her computer all day, but at 5 pm, she headed to HR. The check presented to her was larger than the one last week. “I think you guys made a mistake,” Catra said despite herself. “I was late today. I missed like two hours.”

The HR lady gave her a fake smile. “No error. That accounts for the time you lost.”

“But it’s more than last time?”

“Oh, that’s a bonus for helping out with Hordak’s brother.”

“Oh!”

“Will you need anything else? A car? A reservation?”

“No, thanks.” Catra turned away, trying to contain her excitement. Late to work, and somehow she gets paid more? What a place to work.

She got home, and as she sat down to finish her assignment, her phone buzzed.

Adora:  Are we still on to hang out?”

Catra: I have an assignment due Monday

rain check?

Adora: I could come over there

Catra: I’m almost done

I can’t afford to get distracted :P

Adora: We could just hang out

No hanky panky

Catra: Who are you and what have you done with Adora?

Adora:  No really

I can avoid sleeping with you for one evening

What’s your address?

Now, this was dangerous, and looking at the text made Catra warm. Her finger hovered over the keys, unsure of what to type. She should shut this off. Tell Adora it needed to wait. She shouldn’t give Adora her address till school was over. As she had that thought, her fingers typed out her address and hit send, and she only realized what she had done a moment later.  _ Shit _ . She grabbed the caffeine pills off the table and threw them at the wall. “Stupid sleep deprivation!”

Adora was over in just a few minutes, slightly sweaty and dressed for a run. “I had no idea we lived so close,” she said with a stupid smile as she stepped in. “Oh, this is nice.” What struck her was the austere furniture, the lack of clutter, no magazines. The only books in the room were school books, which were all piled on the coffee table.

“What, are you surprised?”

“I don’t know. It’s just so- clean.” She stepped in, feeling a little like she was stepping into a stranger’s house. It didn’t even smell like Catra, which was odd.

“You thought my apartment would be messy?”

“Well, you leave my apartment messy when you leave.” Adora gave a wink, and Catra blushed.

“I can’t promise I’m going to be good company. This assignment is a monster. It’s fifty percent of my grade, and frankly, if I don’t do well, I’ll fail the class and have to retake it, which means another semester of this stupid arrangement with Ms. Weaver.”

Adora shivered at the name. “Remember that time she yelled at that group of kids?”

“You were there for that?”

“Oh yeah. I found out a week later that she was your guardian. I was so worried about you.”

Catra shrugged and rolled her eyes. “You get used to it eventually, I mean, not without serious issues that I will certainly have to unpack later in therapy, but that’s a problem for future Catra.”

Adora beamed, and it looked like heaven. “You should get to work then. I’ll just watch TV or something. Let me know when you need a break and we’ll, I don’t know- talk. I’ll make you some coffee. You look tired.” She focused her attention on the kitchenette, leaving Catra to have a little breakdown at how sweet this was without having to be embarrassed.

Catra went back to her laptop. What was going on?  _ Shut up and enjoy it _ , she told herself. This was nice and weirdly domestic. That was a thought that didn’t regularly crop up in Catra’s brain. The novelty of it was enough to spark her interest. She got settled back down to her work.

Adora rummaged through the kitchen, pulling out the coffee beans, finding the grinder. She poured the water and spilled some, and went looking for paper towels. The roll on the holder was empty, so she started looking through cabinets. In the back of the thinnest cabinet, she saw a roll and grabbed for it. The paper roll moved too easily, and she realized it was an oatmeal box with a few sheets of paper towel wrapped around it. Odd. Curiosity struck her, and she lifted the container to see a bottle of cheap tequila under it. She slowly put it back down and backed away from it. That was odd. “Do you have roommates?”

“No. I don’t think anyone could handle living with me for more than a night.”

Why would someone hide alcohol like that in their apartment if they didn’t have roommates? It gave Adora a bad feeling, but she tried to ignore it as she focused on cleaning up the mess and continuing to make coffee.

Catra finished and emailed her assignment late into the night. It meant that Sunday was free, and she was about to tell Adora they could make plans when she realized she had fallen asleep on the couch. Adora was snoring lightly, adorably. 

A small soft smile crossed Catra’s lips. She closed her laptop and got a blanket for Adora. They’d talk about plans in the morning.

She stood up to go to her room, her bed, and a thought crossed her mind.  _ Who the fuck am I _ ?  _ What am I doing _ ? She stared at Adora, sleeping soundly for a bit as Catra realized she might be developing feelings for her.  _ Oh shit _ .

***

The thought lingered as they hung out the next day. As they had lunch, dinner, Catra filtered every interaction through the lens of her growing attachment. 

Catra dropped Adora off at her apartment building late Sunday afternoon. They kissed goodbye, and it nearly made Catra's heart burst.

Feelings. She was developing feelings for this girl. That wasn’t great. It was a lousy time for feelings.

Monday morning, as she got ready for school, Catra was developing a plan to guard her weak little heart.  _ Adora will never feel the same way about me _ . How could she? She regarded herself in the mirror as she tied her hair up, and all she could see was a failure. Someone unworthy of love. Some of Ms. Weaver’s words had sunk in over the years and grew and festered till Catra couldn't think past them.

It was easier for Catra to accept that she wanted Adora. She wanted to own her. Forget about winning her heart. Catra felt like that was impossible. She’d earn Adora another way, with a big fat paycheck.

All day in class, Catra was making the plan. She’d get the job, buy Adora a few pieces of delicate jewelry. Maybe rent her a nice car. She’d give her so many gifts she could never leave. She’d never want to. 

She was walking home, smug and satisfied with how this plan protected her from heartbreak. There would be no vulnerable questions like did Adora like her back. She liked money. Everyone did. It gave Catra an assurance, a finality, that she couldn’t otherwise have. 

By the time she got home, she was sure the money was her only redeeming quality. Why else would she need a business degree? Why else would she sell her soul out for the high paying job? She was only pulled out of her thoughts when she realized Adora was sitting on her doorstep in red windbreaker pants and jacket. She stopped by in the middle of a run. Her heart jumped into her throat.

Adora looked up, a worried look on her face. She stood up. “Catra, we need to talk.”

_ Oh shit, it’s going down now _ . The good mood disappeared in an instant. Adora was going to break up with her, and they didn’t even get to have what kind of relationship is this talk.

“What are the conditions of your scholarship?”

Catra breathed a sigh of relief. “You shouldn’t be at my apartment during the week.”

“Is that a part of the conditions?”

“We’ll talk about it later. For now, go home, please.”

“No.” Adora folded her arms. “I have a weird feeling about this, and I’m worried. If you send me home, I’m going to just panic about it.”

That was just like Adora. Catra could imagine how this worry would worm its way through her and spiral into something monstrous. She checked around for any sign of danger before opening the door. “Just for a bit. I’ll tell you, and then you need to leave.”

“Why?” Adora followed into Catra’s apartment, bewildered.

Catra closed the door behind them and motioned for Adora to sit on the couch. They sat across from each other, to look face to face. “So, what do you want to know?”

“Why are you hiding alcohol in your apartment?”

Catra leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. “The scholarship, it’s a sweet deal, but you know how that place was. They don’t want to pay for all of that if the person getting it has less than outstanding moral character.”

Things started to click. “Oh...”

“So I have to subject myself to random morality inspections once a week. Ms. Weaver pops over and checks to see if I’m still a little shit or not. She never comes over on the weekends, so those are party time.”

Adora blinked, another puzzle piece falling in place. “The costume- the makeup- the contact to cover your eye.”

“All a plan to keep Ms. Weaver and the stupid committee that enforces the morality rules from recognizing me as I- you know- have a little fun.”

Adora blinked, her brain processing all this slowly. Her brow furrowed. “If they found out we were sleeping together-”

“They’d turn me in, and I’d get expelled and dropped for breaking the student code of conduct. I'd lose the scholarship, so I'd lose the apartment.”

“So, I’m putting your future in danger?”

Catra averted her eyes. This wasn’t a comfortable conversation. “You’re not doing anything wrong. I’m putting my future in danger.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I didn’t want to scare you off.”

“Catra, this isn’t healthy. You shouldn’t have to hide who you are. This level of control- it’s sick.”

That was the other reason Catra didn’t want to talk about it with Adora. Ms. Gay Pride wasn’t going to react well to it. “It’s fine. We all do it in some way or another. Besides, it’s almost over.”

A few thoughts flashed through Adora’s mind, and her face changed with each one. “Ok, so, you’re going to come out after you graduate?”

Catra shrugged. “I won’t hide it. I won’t have to.”

Adora leaned in. “Would it be better if we didn’t see each other for a while?”

Catra gave Adora a sweet smile. “I think we’re fine. I figured Ms. Weaver out. I’ve figured out the Committee. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about as long as we keep on doing as we’ve been doing.”

A sharp and booming knock sounded on the door, and Catra nearly jumped off her seat. “Oh shit,” She said quietly.

Adora looked to the door, then to Catra. “Ms. Weaver?”

Catra’s eyes darted between the door and Adora. Did she have enough time to hide Adora somewhere? Did she even have a place to hide her?

The knock sounded louder.

There was no time to hide. Just act. She gave Adora a scared look and went for the door. She had never been so happy Adora was wearing a jacket that covered those big beautiful arms, and the tattoo.

She opened the door, and Ms. Weaver slid in, eyes landing firmly on Adora.

Catra was not going to enjoy this. “Ms. Weaver. You remember Adora, from high school.”

A look of dawning realization appeared on Ms. Weaver's face. “Adora!”

Adora stood up and gave a fake smile. “Hi, Ms. Weaver. Long time no see.”

“You disappeared.”

“Yeah, it turns out I didn’t like school, so I left to join the US Olympic Judo Team.” The explanation came out far too fast. Adrenaline was taking its toll.

The noise of pure adoration that Ms. Weaver let out made Catra roll her eyes. It was like reliving every event in which Ms. Weaver and Adora had ever been in the same space. Adora was always what Ms. Weaver wished Catra would be. Oh, if she only knew what Adora had become in her time away. It would have devastated her. The idea was almost fun, and she wondered if that could be a part of her grand exit strategy.

Ms. Weaver looked Adora over. “You’ve grown!”

“Yeah, I kind of hit a growth spurt after I left.” The looks Ms. Weaver gave her always made her feel uncomfortable. She glanced at Catra to find the same discomfort in her face. Time to leave. “Well, I should probably be going.” She started to move to leave.

Ms. Weaver moved to block Adora’s path out. “You were on the path to being Valedictorian, Adora. It’s a shame you left. We had a scholarship lined up for you.”

Adora’s shoulders raised, an awkward smile on her face. “It’s ok. I don’t think I would have liked college.”

“What a waste of talent. Did you at least get your GED?”

“I did! And- oh wow look at the time. I really have to be going. My coach doesn't want me late to practice again.” She darted around Ms. Weaver, aware of the weird crawling feeling of the woman watching her as she did. As she neared Catra, she stuck out her hand, and Catra’s grabbed it in an aggressive handshake. “Well, it was good to see you again after all these years. It was nice to catch up. Bye, Catra!”

“Bye, Adora!” The fake smiles and loud goodbyes were their panicked way of not showing any familiarity. This was just a chance meeting between old friends. They were just catching up. Certainly nothing more. They both hoped Ms. Weaver was buying it.

Adora, eyes wide and her eyebrows raised, exited the apartment and started running away at a full sprint.

Ms. Weaver froze, staring at the door Adora just left through. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen her. The whole school was worried.”

Catra said nothing for fear of any comment, any acknowledgment that she knew anything, would betray what she was feeling.

Ms. Weaver moved toward the door as if she were deciding whether to follow Adora or not. She turned her gaze on Catra. “You could learn a lot from that girl. Maybe you should go running more, and apply yourself harder.”

Catra held back. Now wasn’t the time for a fight.

“Adora was the shining example of the foster system, and now she’s on an Olympic team.” She looked Catra up and down. “I hope you take this chance meeting as an impetus to try harder. Hordak told me you were late this week.”

“My alarm didn’t go off.”

“Excuses excuses.” Ms. Weaver’s hand clinched as she loomed over Catra. “This is a critical internship for you. Do not mess it up. Do not be late again.” She backed away a little. “You'll make me look bad for recommending you, and I do not like having my reputation smeared by the likes of you.”

There it was. That not so subtle verbal abuse. Catra absorbed it the way she had learned to when she was little.

Ms. Weaver turned toward the door. “I am well aware you only have a few more weeks before the end of school and your graduation. After that, you’ll be out of my care. If you’re lucky, you’ll get this job and have a long glorious career with Hordak. If not, well, then I guess you’re on your own.”

“Thanks for the pep talk,” Catra said, despite her best intentions to stay quiet.

“I urge you to take this seriously, as it is your future at stake.”

Catra nodded and was relieved when Ms. Weaver left, again without offering a goodbye. 

Catra stood there, waiting for a few extra minutes before breathing heavy and deep. Oh wow, that had been close. If Adora hadn’t been wearing a jacket- that stupid tattoo would have promoted so much more scrutiny. Coming down off the adrenaline rush, Catra considered not talking to Adora for two more weeks. She pushed it out of her mind as she thought that now that Adora understood the situation, she would make things easier.

***

Catra did not realize how wrong she would be until Adora popped her head into Catra’s cubicle that Saturday. “What are you doing here?” Catra hissed as she grabbed Adora out of the walkway.

“I thought I’d surprise you for lunch.” She held up a brown paper bag.

Catra quickly checked around to see if anyone saw her, then focused on Adora. In a stern whisper, she demanded, “How did you find me?”

“Oh, I asked the receptionist.” Adora tried to match Catra’s volume.

“No, I mean, how did you find out where I worked?”

“It wasn’t hard. That scholarship funnels into this place. I just had to find your information- then your scholarship. Anyway, I wanted to see you.”

“Remember what we talked about? Keeping this on the down-low? This isn’t exactly down-low.”

She held up the food with a big dumb smile. “It’s just lunch.”

Catra looked at the bag, and Adora’s smile and felt her heart giving way. It was just lunch. What could it hurt? “Fine. I know just the place.” She grabbed Adora’s hand and peaked out of the cubical. No one was there.

She moved fast, pulling Adora past her quiet droning coworkers, to the stairwell. “No one uses the stairs,” she said as she pulled Adora in and started climbing. “And people don’t know the roof has an easy entrance. We’ll go there. It’s the most private place I can think of.”

Catra dragged Adora up, and Adora let her. “It doesn’t have to be private. I wore a long sleeve shirt just for you.”

Catra glanced back with a smile but kept trudging on. “Better to be safe than sorry.”

Something in the way she said that both made Adora a little excited, and a little sad. It had been a long time since she had to sneak.

A few moments later, they were on the roof of the building, sitting in the stairwell’s shade, pulling out a sandwich.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped. I didn’t think your work was part of the whole- hiding thing.” She handed the sandwich, beautifully wrapped in parchment, to Catra.

Catra shrugged as she took the offering. “I don’t think it is. You just should have told me first.”

“Sorry. Glimmer says I shouldn't be so impatient, but it’s been hard. I haven’t seen you since that weird thing with Ms. Weaver.”

Catra groaned. “You have no idea. She lectured me afterward, how I should be more like you.”

Adora nudged her. “Oh, man, you should. More out. More proud. I’m sure that’s exactly what she was talking about.”

“She was obsessed with you in High school too. I think of all my friends- you were the only one she didn’t talk badly about.”

Adora shivered, despite the heat of the day. “I always got the sense that she was really way too interested in everything I did.”

“Like I said, obsessed. She said you were a paragon of the foster system.” She took a bite of the sandwich, and it was the first bit of real food she had that day. It made her chest warm, not with lust, but with a soft dull ache of something she was starting to recognize as love. It was weird to have someone care for you. She wiped mustard from her lip. “So, do you want to fuck?”

Adora’s eyes were wide. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“I mean, maybe, but I just came to bring you lunch.”

“Oh,” Catra tried to focus on the sandwich.

“Was that the wrong thing to say?”

Catra shook her head no and took another bite so she wouldn't have to talk.

Adora took a deep breath before turning to face Catra watching her intensely. 

“Oh, I get it now. You have something you want to talk about, and you couldn’t wait,” Catra said between chews, starting to notice a pattern in Adora’s sudden appearances. “You know, you’re really impatient.”

Adora nodded. “I am impatient, and that’s not something that’s going to be fixed today.” She was making strict eye contact without blinking. “Catra, I like you. I like you a lot.”

Catra didn’t know where this was going. She had no experience with a relationship that wasn’t mutual pining unrequited love, or short encounters without a lot of emotional baggage. This was new territory.

Adora continued in that barrel ahead, and speak-your-heart-way she always did, “I know we haven’t had the whole, what are we conversation yet- but- what are we? Because I think whatever we are, I would like to be more.”

Catra swallowed. She shouldn’t be responsible for this. She had no experience. No model for what a real relationship was. 

Adora filled the silence. “I mean, we can’t keep our hands off each other when we’re together- but I also really just like talking with you. It hurts me that you’re suffering.” Adora turned away, leaning back against the wall.

“I’m not suffering.”

“You kind of act like you’re suffering. That bottle in your apartment says your suffering.”

Catra put her sandwich down and rubbed her eyes. “I like you to, ok. I’m not used to it. My head is all fluffy, and my heart’s all a mess. I don’t trust myself around you because I think, if I give myself just a moment of weakness, I’m going to say or do something and screw this all up.” She picked back up the sandwich and shook it gently at Adora. “I’ve never been with someone who brought me sandwiches for an impromptu lunch. I’ve never been with anyone who wanted to just hang out while I wrote a paper, making me coffee and sleeping on my couch- or someone who found my stash and asked me about it. Most people don't stick around long enough. It’s scary how much I feel for you.”

Adora gave her a sweet smile. “So, are we casual or something else now?”

“I think this stopped being casual a while ago.” Saying it out loud was the first moment Catra realized it. This whole time, she had been lying to herself.

“So- we’re dating?”

“Yeah, which is a really dumb idea on my part.” She put her sandwich in one hand so she could take Adora’s with her free hand. She offered, “But I’m so close to graduating, and it’s hard not to think about doing stuff with you after that. Going out in public. Having really romantic dinners where we kiss on the mouth in public.”

“On the mouth!” The surprise in Adora’s voice was all fake. She was smiling big now. “I can tell my friends we’re dating. They’ll be so excited.”

“Don’t tell them who I am till this whole school thing is over.”

“Fine. They’ll ask questions, but I can keep it in for two more weeks.” Adora moved in front of Catra, moving her sandwich away. Their eyes met, and Adora leaned in to kiss Catra. It was soft. Caring. Like a promise. She pulled back with a smile. “You look so sappy.”

“You do too.”

Catra’s phone buzzed, and she jumped. Fishing her phone out of her pocket, she saw a notification. A text from Octavia. “How did she even get my number?” Catra wondered what all she had signed over when she was filling out paperwork.

Adora sat back on her heels, a worried look on her face. “Who’s she?”

“My supervisor, Octavia.” Catra unlocked her phone and quickly skimmed the text. “Oh. She says I have a meeting with Hordak in a few minutes.”

“That sounds exciting.”

“Well, it could either mean I’m fired, or they’re going to offer me the job, which is weird. I've only worked here for three days. Maybe it's something else."

Adora stood up. “I’ll leave so you can focus. Tell me what happens, ok?”

“Of course. I'll tell you tonight when we hang out.”

Adora nearly bent over to give Catra another kiss but stopped herself. “Nope. I am going to hold back. I can do this. I can be patient.” She instead waved. “Bye, girlfriend.”

Catra gave her a stupid smile back, and mirrored, “Bye, girlfriend.”

Adora rushed away, sprinting down the stairs, her heart full of joy.

Catra sat back against the stairwell, letting all the sappy feelings wash over her. It was hard to say goodbye to her new girlfriend, like having her own heart ripped from her chest. Oh, love was stupid. Now she understood all those sappy songs.

She sat like that for a moment, reveling in the mood. Her brain was awash with feel-good chemicals. She devoured her sandwich and got up to get ready for this meeting. She felt like she was going to get this job if only because she felt like she was finally winning at life. It was one of the few moments in her life she felt real confidence. She felt worthy. If Adora could like her, then anything was possible.

She had to freshen up in the bathroom before heading to Hordak’s office. When she got there, the secretary waved her in immediately. “Hordak and his brother are waiting for you.”

Catra wondered if she would have to take Wrong Hordak out again instead of being offered a job. It wasn’t the worst way to spend her workday. When she stepped into the room, she realized she misunderstood. Hordak sat in his chair, menacing as ever, and next to him stood a man who was older, taller, with long hair, but related. How many brothers did this guy have?

“Catra, it’s good to see you. Please sit down,” Hordak’s voice had little emotion besides a slight amusement. “May I introduce the owner of the company, and my older brother, Prime.”

What was with this family and their names? Catra moved forward to offer her hand and shivered when he took it. He was strong, and his eyes were watching her unblinking. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Catra.”

She didn’t like how he said her name, but she took a seat pretending to be brave.

Prime leaned against the desk, a smirk on his face. “I have good news. Though your internship has been short, you’ve shown us several qualities we’re looking for in a candidate for this position.”

Catra’s heart leaped. She tried to keep a straight face.

He pulled out a clicker and snapped his fingers. The lights went down, and a projector turned on, displaying a crystal clear photo of Adora leaving her apartment for a run.

Shit.

Prime seemed to delight in her discomfort. “I believe I can say with reasonable certainty that you have an affliction much like our little brother, wouldn’t you say?”

Catra’s stomach felt tight.

“You took the company car to pick this woman up, take her on a nice little date, and then had your way with her. Was that how it went?”

Catra’s palms were sweating. Her armpits were drenching her suit.

Prime moved toward her in the dark, his face illuminated only by the projector, Adora’s stupid tattoo landing right on his face as he stood there. “Well, you’re in luck. The position we’ve been looking to hire for is a perfect match for someone of your proclivities.”

“What?” Catra’s voice cracked.

“Oh, you know how it is. Our clients- if they found out our dear little brother was gay, they’d stop investing. They would all freak out about family values and take their business elsewhere. We’ve got too much money caught up in this to let that happen, so we need someone to take one for the team and marry him- take him on some public excursions. Give the nice little appearance of a happily married couple.”

Catra felt sick.

Prime, eating up her reaction, continued. “It would be cruel to ask a normal woman to do it, so we figured we’d find one of your kind and offer you a nice salary, a position in the company where you wouldn’t have to do anything unless you wanted to. All for the simple fact of pretending.”

Hordak added in a straight, business-like tone, “You’d be able to keep whatever side relationships you want, as long as they’re out of sight of the investors.”

Catra’s heart was pounding. Her breathing fast and shallow.

Prime loomed over her. “What do you say, little sister?”

Catra couldn’t talk.

Hordak butted in, “You don’t have to answer today. Think about it, and get back to us before next weekend.” He pulled a slip of paper out from his desk. “To help you consider it, this is the amount we’d be willing to pay you.”

Prime sauntered over to get the paper and smiled down at Catra as he offered it.

Her hand, shaking, took it. Through the panic that had set in, the amount taunted her. It was double anything she had expected to earn right out of college.

***

They let her leave work early. She passed by Octavia on the way out, and the woman mouthed, ‘I told you so.'

Catra turned and ran to get away. She got a taxi and sat in the back seat, feeling numb from her head to her toes. She didn’t remember the ride. All she remembered was the look on Prime’s face when he flipped on the projector. She blinked and realized the taxi driver was telling her she was home. She got out in a daze, feeling uneasy on her feet.

Getting into the apartment felt better. It was cold there. Clean. Orderly. It made sense. She was about to head to her bottle of tequila when someone knocked at her door. She stopped and looked back. Adora wouldn’t have assumed she was home yet. The only person it could be-

“Catra, let me in.” Ms. Weaver demanded.

_ No. Not now. Why now _ ? Catra felt a stone in her stomach. What if they told Ms. Weaver? They wouldn't do that, would they? She moved slowly toward the door.

“Catra, open this door now!”

Catra complied, and when Ms. Weaver saw her, her expression softened.

Catra’s voice was shaky as she asked bluntly, “What? An inspection on a Saturday?”

Ms. Weaver moved in, closing the door behind her. They stood there a moment, not talking, not moving. After the pause, Ms. Weaver moved quickly to the kitchen, reaching directly for the bottle of tequila. She put it on the counter. She made a bee-line to the couch and pulled the guitar out. Next was the costume, the makeup, the contacts case. Ms. Weaver dumped all of them on the counter. “If you want, I can go get your stash of porn taped to the bottom of your bedside table drawer, but I figured this would make my point well enough.”

Catra’s vision was blurry with tears.

Ms. Weaver stared her down. “You think I didn’t know? I raised you. I know all of your tricks. I was more shocked that you did such a good job of hiding it all from everyone else. That was the real skill you always had. Sneaking.”

Every word hurt like she was taking arrows to the chest.

“I could have taken the scholarship away at any point, but I didn’t, and do you know why?”

Catra didn’t respond.

“Because you remind me of myself. I had to fight for everything I ever had, and there were no shortages of people looking to take it all from me. I wanted you to be better. Do better.” She paused, taking a moment to breathe before continuing. “Did you really think that with your grades, someone as important as Hordak would give you an internship out of nowhere?”

Catra fell back against the door, her chest tight trying to hold in in sobs.

“I knew about their son’s affliction, and I suggested you were already so well adept at hiding that the More Enforcement Committee had no idea. That piqued their interest.”

“You did this?” Catra’s fists clenched, a growl erupted in her. Rage burned in her. She grabbed the lamp next to the couch, flung it across the room smashing it against the wall near Ms. Weaver. Catra grabbed the table it was on, and slammed it over and over into the ground till it fell apart in her hands. She fell to her knees sobbing as she strained to contain it all.

Ms. Weaver, calm, moved closer to her. “I know how you feel. The world isn’t fair. That’s why I wanted you to have this opportunity.”

Catra just cried and didn’t even flinch when Ms. Weaver put her hand on her face.

“I’ve been told they gave you some time to consider their offer. Think carefully before you respond.” She paused to look back at the things gathered on the counter. “And if you say no, I’ll turn you into the committee. Consider it a push in the right direction.”

Catra shook, her teeth biting down so hard it felt like they were shifting. “Get out,” she growled.

Ms. Weaver coiled back her hand and backed away. “I’ll not check on you again. This is goodbye, Catra. I hope you make the right decision.”

It took everything in Catra’s body not to attack. She wanted to claw her eyes out. Rip her entrails and spread them across the floor. Ms. Weaver moved to the door, and all Catra’s anger and rage melted into the words, “I hate you.”

Ms. Weaver didn’t even flinch. ”Someday, you’ll thank me for this,” and with that she glided out the door like a phantom.

Catra collapsed onto the floor, clutching her chest as she sobbed. She felt so dumb. So stupid for believing the internship had been anything other than a sham. 

Her sobbing subsided, as she found she didn’t have the energy to cry anymore. She had been stupid to believe she’d be free of the manipulation after graduation. Flashes of her beautiful lunch with Adora sat in stark contrast to the vision of Prime taking such pleasure in throwing Adora in her face.

She hit the floor and screamed again, realizing she’d have to talk to Adora. That thought made her start crawling to get up off the ground. Her vision tunneled toward the bottle of tequila on the counter. She was going to need some liquid courage to do this.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's always darkest before the dawn.

Adora couldn’t contain the excitement in her voice as she rattled off, “I asked a girl out, and she said yes. We’re dating now. We had a whole conversation about it!”   


Glimmer couldn’t contain her excitement. “Oh, I can’t wait to meet her. What’s her name?”

Adora nearly blurted Catra’s name out but caught herself. “She’s kind of a private person. Once she meets you in a few weeks, she’ll open up and be more comfortable with you knowing her name.”

Glimmer was silent at the other end of the line.

“Glimmer?”

“Are you embarrassed by us, Adora?”

“No no! It’s not me. It’s her. She’s just- shy. And maybe this whole dating thing is new to her too, so she wants to get used to it first before making some big announcement.”

“That’s weird Adora, but you know what, if you’re happy then I’m happy for you!”

Adora fell onto her couch and stared at the big window in her loft. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.”

“See, I told you dating would make you feel better. All this time and you didn’t believe me.”

“I’m having weird visions of owning a house with her,” Adora admitted, a little shocked. “It has a white picket fence. A jeep in the driveway.”   


“Don’t scare her away with the commitment of a mortgage, Adora. If she’s skittish, maybe slow down. At least you didn’t jump straight to marriage.”

“Oh, wow- marriage.” Adora’s brain gave her a slideshow of a proposed future. Images of proposals, and champaign, and Glimmer and Bow both giving speeches. She had to be pulled out of it by the buzz of her apartment telecom. “Glimmer, I'm going to have to let you go. Someone’s here.”

“Don’t scare her off!” Glimmer yelled as Adora hung up.

Adora got up and went to hit the button on the intercom. “Who is it?”

“Adora, it’s me.” Catra’s voice was rough, harsh, but recognizable.

Adora blinked. It wasn’t five yet. Catra should be at work. Something was wrong. “Just a moment. I’ll let you in.” She ran to the door and sprinted down the stairs. She threw open the door at the bottom floor of her apartment building to find Catra leaning against the wall, her head lowered.

“Are you ok?” Adora reached for her, and Catra stumbled into her grasp, a familiar smell wafting around her. “Are you drunk?”

“I need to- we need to talk,” Catra mumbled.

Catra could barely walk straight, bumping into the wall, or the doorway, as Adora opened her apartment up to her. 

“What in the world happened? Did you get fired?”

Catra started to laugh. “Oh, no. That would have been better.” She was avoiding Adora’s eyes.

“Then, are you celebrating? Catra, I’m confused.”

Catra tried to steady herself, tried to be presentable, tried to look Adora in the eye, but it was all so much. The world was spinning, and only partially because of the rest of the tequila bottle she had downed. Looking Adora in those striking blue eyes, full of worry, Catra wanted to hide. She wanted to pretend. She wanted to lie and say everything was fine, but she couldn't. “The job wasn’t what I thought it was.” She stated it coldly, building up her armor against what she knew was about to happen.

“I’m so sorry,” Adora offered quietly.

Catra shook her head, forcing the words out, to force her brain to do what it needed to do. “They want me to be a beard for their gay brother- Something about their investors- They want me to marry him.”

Adora’s face lit with shock. She made a motion to talk, but couldn’t.

Catra jumped in, her courage fueled by relaxed inhibitions, “But they said I could keep doing what I’ve been doing. I can keep any affairs I want, as long as their- secret.” The last word hit like a hammer.

Adora’s face was unreadable.

Catra watched her, knowing what she was about to do wasn’t going to work. She had been a fool to think this whole thing ever would. “This doesn’t change how I feel about you. If you’ll keep me-”

Adora blinked in shock. “You’re considering it?”

“Just, I know I promised no more hiding, but if you’re willing- We can still be together. I’ll have so much money! I can pay for everything. I’ll get you so many gifts. Cars, jewelry, anything you want.” Catra rushed her words because her thoughts were rushing. She hadn’t planned this out well.

Adora’s face turned to firm anger. “Catra, this is sick. They can’t pay you to marry their brother, or at least they shouldn’t, and you shouldn’t be considering this.”

Catra’s hands gripped into fists. “Adora, I have no choice.” She said it in the defeat she had always felt. She didn’t deserve Adora. This was just the moment of truth where Adora realized it too.

“You always have a choice.” Adora reached out to grab Catra’s hand, her voice pleading. “You’re worth more than this. Say no. If you’re not going to say no for yourself, then do it for me.”

Catra met Adora’s gaze, and she grabbed Adora’s hand back “I have to do this. I just want you with me while I do.”

Adora pulled back, recoiling and letting go of Catra’s hand. “It’s hard enough for me to play along with this hiding thing the last few weeks, Catra. I don’t agree with it. It’s not healthy, and I’m not going to consent to be your mistress while you pretend to be someone else’s wife.”

Catra already felt the slow, steady pain of failure. This is what she had been expecting since the moment Adora asked her to stay over. “What are you trying to say?” Catra’s tone was blank. She knew what was coming.

Adora’s eyes had started to fill with tears. “I care too much for you and myself to agree to this. If you can’t see that- if you can’t see how this is bad-” Her whole body softened, her shoulders fell, and she said quietly, “then I don’t think we can be together.”

_ There it goes. Exactly what you deserve _ . It finally happened, and Catra just stood there looking up at Adora’s broken heart. She wanted to say whatever she needed to make Adora say yes, but she couldn’t think of anything. Promises of money, travel, gifts- it was all useless. Catra couldn’t take it anymore. She ran out, trying to drown out the sobs she heard from the apartment behind her.

***

The cashier at the corner store looked at Catra worried as she fumbled in her pockets for her credit card and could barely stick it in the machine, her other hand holding a brown paper bag with a new giant bottle of tequila in it.

“Miss, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Just a bad day- You have bad days, don’t you?” She glared at him, but couldn’t keep it up as the machine dinged and she withdrew her card. “Keep the receipt, and mind your own damn business.”

She staggered out into the sidewalk, her body feeling weak from the exertion of the last few hours. She burst into her apartment and didn’t even wait for the door to shut before she unscrewed her new therapist’s lid. She took a big gulp before landing on the couch and crying all over again. She wanted to drink until she was numb—anything to stop this hurting.

Monday morning came around, and half the bottle was gone. With her head hurting and her stomach churning, she managed to open her laptop and send a note to her professors that she wasn’t feeling good. That wasn’t a lie. She’d miss class for a few days. It was the one responsible thing she was able to do. Her stomach grumbled. She hadn’t eaten since the sandwich Adora brought her two days ago. That made her cry all over again.

The mundane act of ordering a pizza felt wrong. She didn’t want to eat, but she felt like she had to. When the food came, she didn’t want to get up from the couch, but she forced herself.

Tuesday wasn’t any better.

By Wednesday, she was drunk again and yelling at herself in her apartment. Her voice was worse than anything Ms. Weaver could dream up. For every horrible thing that woman had ever said, Catra could do so much worse to herself.

Thursday rolled around, and she realized she should probably shower, but couldn't get the energy to do it. She had barely left the couch in the last few days. She just turned on the TV and let it drone away while she occasionally cried.

Her professors were worried about her missing so much class at the end of the semester. She didn’t care. 

Friday came, and she managed to text Scorpia.

Catra: Tell Kyle he’s the new guitarist

I quit

Scorpia: What happened?

Catra looked down at those words, and her eyes went blurry with tears again. How could she cry so fucking much? How did she not die of dehydration? How was she supposed to sum up everything in a text? There was only one thing she could think to say.

Catra: She broke up with me

There was no response from Scorpia. Maybe she’d understand enough to leave Catra alone to wallow in her misfortune. Half an hour went by, and Catra had nearly forgotten about the conversation. Dr. Añejo provided such complete mind-numbing, emotional denting effects that she didn’t care anymore what happened.

There was a knock at her door, and it struck a sensitive part of Catra’s dulled brain. No way Ms. Weaver would have the gall to come back. Not now. “GO AWAY!” The words came out slurred.

“Don’t make me force my way in,” Scorpia’s voice came clearly through the door.

Catra perked up. “Scorpia?” She started to get up off the couch and found herself on the floor among a garbage pile she had managed not to take out. She got up on her hands and knees. Her stomach churned as she crawled toward the door. If she had more of a personality, she would have told Scorpia to go away again, but she was acting on basic instincts. She needed something that she would never put into words. She unlocked the door from the floor.

Scorpia pushed the door open slightly and peered in. She got a nose full of many different smells. Mostly, tequila, and vague hints at Catra’s stomach’s reaction, but also someone who hadn’t bathed in a while, and an apartment full of food trash. She noticed the destroyed furniture next, and Catra, on the floor, looking like a half-dead cat.

“Oh Wildcat!” Scorpia swooped in, pulling Catra into her arms. She effortlessly carried Catra to the couch and put her down. She quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Lonnie. She picked up immediately.

“What’s up?”

“I need help. Catra is- Catra needs help, and I can’t do it alone.”

Lonnie’s tone was matter-of-fact like this happened every day. “Do you need me or all of us?”

Scorpia looked around the apartment and back at Catra. “I think we need the whole squad.”

Lonnie whistled, “Must be pretty serious. At her apartment?”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll be there in a bit.”

Scorpia hung up. “First things first.” She grabbed the bottle. “Dr. Añejo is going down the sink.”

Catra blinked in her stupor. “You knew?”

“Of course, I knew! There are no therapists around here named Dr. Añejo. I’m horrified you didn’t think I would check.”

Catra’s eyes flew open as she got the energy to try to fight for her bottle back. Scorpia easily deflected the onslaught as she marched toward the kitchen. “This is for your own good,” She tipped the bottle and let every drop glug out into the sink. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the label. “This isn’t even an Añejo. I’m not even sure you can technically call this tequila.”

Catra fell to her knees again, crying like a baby at the loss of her pacifier.

“Next thing, you need a bath before the others get her. You smell rank.”

Catra squirmed and fought it, but Scorpia quickly scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, Catra curled up on the couch with a towel big enough to cover her head to foot, hair dripping wet. She was still in an alcohol-fueled daze, so she wasn’t sure how she felt about what had just happened.

“See, you’re feeling better already,” Scorpia said before someone knocked at the door. “Oh, that must be the squad.”

She darted over to the door and opened it. In came Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle, each with unique reactions to what they saw. Lonnie’s face set stern. “What happened here? A localized tornado?”

“A bad breakup,” Scorpia quickly explained as she gestured to the empty bottle of tequila sitting next to the sink.

Lonnie sighed and moved forward to start picking up broken furniture and trash around the room. “Honestly, Catra, you think next time you could just buy a pint of ice cream?” Rogelio and Kyle followed in her lead.

Catra hated it. Couldn’t they just leave her to wallow in peace? She was too buzzed to protest. She instead tried to focus on the TV so she wouldn’t have to look them in the eye. It was enough they thought this was all breakup related. They didn’t need to know about the manipulation by Ms. Weaver, or the job offer to sell her soul for an ungodly amount of money. That would just lessen their opinion of her.

Scorpia beamed as she put a glass of ice water on the coffee table in front of Catra, “Drink up. You need to get hydrated again.”

Catra kicked the glass over with her foot, water spilling all over the trash that was at her feet, mumbling.

Scorpia sighed and grabbed the glass. “Don’t make me force you. You know I’ll do it, and it won’t be fun.” She left to refill the glass.

Catra settled back into her towel when Lonnie got in front of her, her face stern. “I can’t believe you're treating her like that. Do you know how much she cares about you? How much we all do? Can’t you just take it and say thank you?”

Catra shrank into her towel.

“You know what? I’m done with your pity party. I’m done watching you hurt yourself. It’s like watching my mother spiral all over again, and I don’t want to see what happened to her happen to you.”

Catra shifted uncomfortably. Lonnie never talked about her family. None of them did, foster family or not.

Lonnie grabbed the towel and pulled Catra close. “You’re going to drink that water, and you’re going to thank Scorpia for dropping everything to come to pull you out of your pit of fucking despair, you got that?”

Catra glanced at Lonnie’s strong arms and clenched fists. She nodded, still too drunk to engage in a fight.

Lonnie pushed her back into the couch and went back to picking up trash.

Scorpia reappeared with a glass of water and a big smile. Catra took it, and muttered a thank you, and siped it.

***

Hours later, and Catra was stone-cold sober if a little hungover. Kyle brought her painkillers and stomach medicine. The apartment was nearly spotless. Rogelio came in from the laundromat with a bag of clean clothes. Catra still huddled in her towel.

Scorpia sat on the coffee table in front of Catra, smiling like this was some kind of success. “So, tell us what happened.”

Catra closed her eyes and shook her head no.

“Oh come on. You’re with friends. We’re here for you.”

Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle took seats in the newly cleaned living room and waited. Lonnie folded her arms and glared.

“What’s the point in talking about it? It can’t be fixed.” Catra said in a raspy voice, her throat hurt from crying.

Scorpia leaned in. “It’s good to talk about it. Get it off your chest.”

“I don’t wanna!”

Scorpia moved to sweep Catra into her arms, wrapped in the towel, and swung her back and forth. “Relax. You’re safe here.”

Catra tried to hold it back, but the truth was, she wanted them to know. She wanted to get it out, if only so it wouldn’t explode inside her, and the story burst out of her in one long sentence with no punctuation and very little structure. Running into Adora, the affair, the internship, feeling feelings, the stupid lunch on the roof, she finally had a stupid girlfriend, the job offer, Ms. Weaver’s threat, and finally Adora’s refusal to go along with it. She ended it with the words, “-AND SHE BROKE UP WITH ME!” As she began sobbing all over again like it had all just happened. 

Scorpia put her down gently as she sat down in stunned silence. The other three looked on in shock. Scorpia was the first one to speak. “Catra, that’s really fucked up.”

Something about the tone made Catra’s sobs slowly stop. Something about getting it all out, and having someone else also think it was fucked up, made it hurt less.

Scorpia scratched the back of her neck, mulling it all over in her head. “Catra, did you even like business school?”

“I hated it.”

“Did you like working for this company?”

“I hated it.”

“Did you like leading a double life?”

Catra said quietly, “I hated it.”

“Then why continue?”

Catra blinked tears out of her eyes. “My whole future- it’s all gone if I don’t do this.”

Scorpia shook her head. “Maybe one of your possible futures is, but it’s not like you cease to exist if you don’t get this job.” Scorpia moved to sit next to Catra, putting her arm around her shoulders. “You’re a fighter, clever, and resourceful. You can find your way after this without their job or that stupid degree you hated.”

Catra blinked at Scorpia in wonder.

“I’m sad that you even considered this fucked up offer. I’m serious. I think that might be illegal, or at least unethical, or something.” She smiled down at Catra. “Your happiness is worth more than any amount of money.”

Catra looked down at the floor, a weird feeling welling up in her as she stated, plainly, “Oh my god, I can’t go through with it. I’m going to turn down a fortune.”

Lonnie cut in, “You better. This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Catra sat up, eyes wide. “I’m going to turn it down. I’m going to get kicked out of school right before I graduate.”

Scorpia, a little confused at the tone, offered, “That’s my girl!”

Catra blinked. “I’m going to ruin my life to be happy?”

Lonnie put her hands on her knees and leaned forward, “Catra, do you love this girl?”

The response came out without hesitation. “Yeah.” If she was unsure before, then the last few days of relative hell without her had made that abundantly clear.

Lonnie stood up, fist clenched. “Then, you’re going to get up off that couch and get ready to apologize, and we’re going to help.” She spun back to the others. “You two, go out and get some flowers ASAP!”

Kyle and Rogelio jumped up with a nod and headed out the door.

“Scorpia, get the hairbrush. I’ll get her eyeliner. We got to pick out an outfit that screams I’m gay, and I want you back.”

Scorpia saluted and jumped into action.

Catra sat astounded at her own squad’s resolve. 

***

The phone in Hordak’s office rang, and he put his papers down and clicked the answer button. “Hordak. State your business.”

“Hey there, Hordak. It’s Catra.”

He smiled. “Catra, I take it you’ve considered our offer.”

“I have, and you know what, you can shove it right up your ass.” Catra beamed as she said it, stepping out of the van once they reached Adora’s apartment. The sun seemed to be shining brighter. Birds chirped. She gripped a bouquet of white daisies. On the sidewalk, a mother with her child quickly moved away from the woman cursing loudly on the phone.

“What?” Hordak growled on the other end of the line.

“I’m refusing. Go ahead, tell Ms. Weaver. She’ll get me kicked out of school. And you know what, I don’t care.”

“If this is a play for more money-”

She cut him off. “No amount of money is worth that.”

He rattled off an amount.

Catra’s eye twitched as the amount sunk in.

Lonnie hit her in the back from inside the van, jarring her out of considering it.

Catra got her resolve back. “No! You can’t buy me off.”

He rattled off another amount. Catra went quiet. How much was this decision going to cost her?

“Catra!” Scorpia called from the front seat.

“I can’t be bought, not anymore,” Catra yelled into the phone. That was a lot of money. She couldn't believe she was turning it down. “You should be ashamed, selling out your brother like this. I don’t know what kind of manipulative family you have, but instead of trying so desperately to hide your little brother, you should be fighting for him to be happy.”

Hordak stopped talking at that.

“Take it from someone who’s lived in the closet for years- it comes at a cost.” She hung up. She didn’t want to hear his take on it. She didn’t want to continue this conversation. She focused her attention on the path to Adora’s apartment.

She ran to the buzzer and hit Adora’s apartment number.

The squad sat in the van, waiting. 

No one answered. 

“What’s going on? Is she avoiding you?” Lonnie called out.

“No. She can’t possibly know it’s me.” Catra paused, her brain running through her options. “She must not be home.”

Scorpia called out, “So what now?”

Catra hadn’t pried about Adora’s schedule. She hadn’t even asked where Adora worked. She needed someone who knew where she would be. She thought back to the boardwalk. She hadn’t gotten any of their numbers, and Adora wouldn’t answer a text, not after what happened on Saturday. “Wrong Hordak!” She remembered him getting Bows number. She quickly got his contact up on her phone and called.

Wrong Hordak saw the call come in and answered it despite the current argument between his older brothers. “Hello!” He nearly sang into the phone.

“Hey, I need Bow’s number.”

“What for?”

Catra clinched the bouquet. “You know what? I’m gay. I play in a band at all those gay bars, and Adora and I were dating, and we broke up, and I’m going to win her back!” Her adrenaline spiked. Had she just said that out in public?

Wrong Hordak squealed with delight. “Give me a moment. I’ll call him.” Over the phone, in the background, Catra thought she could hear Hordak screaming something about freedom, and a cold voice yelling at him for being foolish. Wrong Horack waited till the yelling died down before he offered, “Good luck!” He hung up.

Catra stood, heart pounding in her chest, waiting for a call to come in. Her phone rang from a number she didn’t know. She answered it. “Hello?”

Bow’s calm voice answered on the other end of the line. “Wrong called. Said something about you trying to find Adora.”

“Yeah. I never really figured out her schedule, and I need to talk to her right away.” Her heart was beating so fast she thought she’d die if she just stood there.

“Why?”

She groaned. How many times was she going to have to say this? “I’m gay. Adora and I broke up. I need to talk to her, ok?”

“Oh wow... Are you the one she was so excited about dating that then immediately broke up with her?”

“She broke up with me! You know what, it doesn’t matter. I need to apologize.”

“I don’t know her schedule, but Glimmer does. I’ll have her call you.” He hung up in a hurry.

Catra gripped her phone as she stared at it. She couldn’t believe she had to rely on this weird game of tag. Would Sparkles even call back? What had Adora told them?

Thankfully, a new number she didn’t recognize popped up, and she answered. “Glitter?” Oh shit. That wasn’t her name, just the thing she associated with her.

“Glimmer. It’s Glimmer.” Her tone was angry and firm. “I should have known it was you. I didn’t like you the moment I saw you. Do you know how badly you’ve hurt Adora?”

“Look, I know. I was stupid. I made a mistake- but I want to make it right, but I need to talk to her.”

Glimmer huffed on the other end of the line. “I’m tempted to make you stew in this for a bit. Think about what you’ve done.”

“I already have!” She couldn’t help yelling. “I gave up my job. I’m getting kicked out of school, all because your friend has some kind of moral compass. I think I’ve suffered enough for one week, and honestly, she has too, so tell me where she is so I can apologize, give her flowers and make some kind of grand gesture.”

“You’re going to give her flowers?” There was a sudden wistfulness to Glimmer’s voice. Was she about to cry?

Catra took a breath to try to calm down. She wasn’t expecting to have to go through so many levels. “Look, I need to try. See if she’ll take me back. If I let her go without trying, I’ll never forgive myself.”

Glimmer gave it a few short moments before declaring, “She’s at the gym. I’ll text you the address.” Glimmer hung up.

Catra pulled her phone away from her ear and stared at it. The squad sat in silent anticipation behind her.

Her phone buzzed. The address was there, against all hope. She couldn't believe her good fortune that she managed to run into Adora’s friend group that day, and that Wrong Hordak was such a flirt. She jumped back in the van, calling out the address as Scopria fired up the engine.

***

Adora could barely keep her focus on the fight she was scoring, and nearly missed a few marks. She hadn’t been able to focus well since that day, and she considered asking someone to sub for her in this local tournament her gym was running. It had been important to her coach, so she wasn’t going to let her down.

They had pulled out the bleachers, and moved all the equipment aside, and set up a ring, all for a local charity to host a regional tournament to give the kids some experience with competition rules. It was important. Adora knew she should focus on it, but she just felt heavy.

The ref called the match, and one kid won with an excellent throw. Everyone cheered, and through all of it, Adora heard the door to the gym open and looked. Glimmer and Bow were there, weird looks on their faces as they looked around. Adora got up to talk to them before the other match happened. “What are you two doing here? Is something wrong.”

“Don’t mind us!” Glimmer said as she grabbed Bow’s hand and dragged him to the bleachers. “We’re just here to support you, Adora.”

“I’m not competing. I-” Before Adora could answer, Glimmer and Bow were already gone, halfway up the bleachers.

It had taken a few years, but Adora had come to expect weird things from her friend group. Maybe they were just trying to be supportive because they knew about the breakup even if they didn’t know everything about the breakup. She decided not to press it and started heading back to the judge’s table.

The doors behind her opened again, and she checked just to check if Glimmer and Bow had decided to leave. Instead, it was Catra who stood there- shell shocked, holding a large bouquet of daisies.

Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio, and Scorpia, all the weird kids from high school, stood behind her.

“Go get her, Wildcat,” Scorpia whispered in Catra's ear.

Catra was frozen on the spot as it seemed a whole school's worth of parents and children looked in her direction. What was she doing? Her whole life, this had been the ever constant fear. Saying things out loud, in front of people, and then they would know.

Lonnie put a hand on her shoulder. “This ain’t nothing to you. You can do this.”

Catra swallowed as she whispered to herself, “I can do this. I can do this.” 

The look on Adora’s face made Catra’s heart beat faster than it had in her whole life. She took a step forward and then another. She was going to do this. She had to.

“Catra, what are you doing?” Adora asked as she noticed the flowers.

Catra couldn’t break eye contact. She was wading through years of internalized fear of doing what she was about to do. “Adora, I love you.”

The gym went silent. All eyes were on the two.

Catra could hear her heart beating in her ears. “I turned down the job.”

Adora’s expression started to shift. 

“No more sneaking.” She stepped forward, holding the flowers to her. “Please take me back-”

Adora rushed forward, swooping Catra up into her arms and spun her, giggling. 

Catra felt like she was going to throw up, but she started to smile.

Adora stopped moving but held Catra off the ground. “Of course, I’ll take you back! I love you too!”

The gym erupted in applause and hoots and hollers, mostly coming from Glimmer and Bow. Only a few parents looked scandalized. Catra could live with that.

Adora put Catra down and kissed her. Catra dropped the flowers, sinking into Adora’s lips. From behind her, Catra could hear Scorpia cheering and Lonnie sniffling.

Once the kiss ended, Catra pulled away, her face serious again. “I won’t have any money.”

Adora ran her hand through Catra’s hair and touched their foreheads together. “I never cared about the money.”

“I’m losing my degree too.”

“I’m sure your credits will transfer somewhere.”

“I’m being evicted out of my apartment.”

“Come live with me.”

“That escalated quickly.” Catra was beaming. "Sure. I'll move in."

One of the officials sounded a foghorn and yelled something about getting back to the tournament.

Adora glanced back to give a wave. “One more minute!” She spun, her attention back to Catra. “I’m proud of you, but you didn’t have to come here and do that in front of everyone.”

“I couldn’t wait. Not for this. Besides, I'm tired of hiding."


	6. Epilogue

The bar was full, and Catra played her heart out. The singing came easy. No makeup. No costume. No contacts to hide her eyes. Wildcat was just Catra, standing in front of the crowd, singing all the sappy love songs like they were hers. When the set ended, Catra declared onto the mic, “That was dedicated to my smoking hot girlfriend at table number 6.”

The place erupted in cheers. 

Glimmer, Bow, and Wrong Hordak sat with Adora, various colorful drinks in their hands as Glimmer commented, “Something seems weirdly familiar about this.” She looked up at the stage, at Catra winking at Adora, and then the memory hit. She choked on her drink.

Bow quickly put his hand on her back. “Are you ok?”

Glimmer coughed as she tried to clear her throat and came up, trying to look dignified. “Nothing- just went down the wrong pipe.” She hoped he couldn’t see her blushing. She remembered why Catra was so familiar, and the bill from the doctor when she had to get those scratches on her back checked to see if they were infected. 

Bow patted her back to help dislodge the stuff still stuck in her. “You look red in the face. Are you sure you’re not sick?”

“Oh, no. No- I’m fine.” She glanced down at her drink so she wouldn’t have to look him in the eye. Her brain raced with the new information. That one wild night she decided to go home with a random performer, that the person she had slept with was Catra. The universe was playing her for a fool in letting someone as reckless as that end up in a long-term committed relationship before Glimmer. She looked back up at Catra, singing her heart out on stage. No, it wasn’t cosmic irony. Catra had been brave, and that’s why she was happy. Glimmer turned toward Bow, locking eyes with him. “Bow, I have something to ask you.”

Adora heard Glimmer’s tone and tried not to be obvious as she looked back.

“Of course. What’s going on?” He was so sweet. So caring.

Glimmer took his hand and asked bluntly, “Bow, do you want to date me?”

He blinked at her with a blank expression. 

“Well?”

He put his hand back over hers. “Glimmer, we’ve been dating- since karaoke.”

Glimmer’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“You asked me out, then sang a bunch of love songs to me. I sang my favorites back to you. I thought we were just taking it slow.”

Adora burst out laughing.

Glimmer gripped Bow’s hand. “No more taking it slow, ok?”

His face firm, he nodded in agreement as Adora’s laughter subsided.

“I’m happy for you two,” Adora said while wiping tears from her eyes.

The set ended, and Catra took off her guitar, lept off stage, and ran to straddle Adora’s lap. Adora caught her easily. “What’s so funny?”

Adora beamed. “Bow and Glimmer are dating.”

“Oh. Good for them.” Catra then focused her attention on Adora. She kissed her gently.

They parted, and Adora gazed at her girlfriend. “You’re beautiful.”

Catra pulled her into another kiss and smiled against her lover’s lips. They had barely let go of each other since the day at the gym, and it still felt new. It still felt kind of scary, but scarry was easier with Adora.

Adora started kissing Catra’s neck, and Catra hummed in response, then the words left her mouth before they could get processed through her brain. “Marry me.”

Adora pulled back, meeting Catra’s eyes. “Do you have a ring?”

“Not yet, but I will.”

“Oh, ok. Sure.”

“That’s your response to 'marry me'? Sure?”

“I mean, yes?”

“Is that an answer or a question?”

“An answer.”

“Holy shit... Are you serious? You said yes to me?”

“You ask me to marry you every Friday. I say yes every time. You really shouldn’t be surprised. Last week you asked me mid climax, and I still said yes.”

“I know. It’s still amazing. Hold up.” Catra pulled a hand away and reached into her leather jacket. She pulled out a small box and flipped the top off. A gold band glinted in the light.

Bow, Glimmer, and Wrong Hordak gasped in delight.

Adora stared at it, unbelieving. “You lied to me.”

Catra couldn’t suppress the smile on her face. “I saved up. That stupid temp job is rough, but I finally saved up enough and got it last weekend. I even had to find a sneaky way to get your ring size without you knowing.”

“Oh wow.” A big smile grew on Adora’s face. 

The bar had gone quiet.

Catra made her face look serious as she repeated herself, “Adora, will you marry me?”

Adora looked between the ring and Catra as she slowly realized this was not a drill. This was the real thing?   


“Well?”

Adora held eye contact. “Yes. Yes! OH WOW YES!” She stood up, carrying Catra with her and spinning around, nearly losing her balance as the bar erupted in cheers, especially from the stage and table number 6.

Catra laughed, a little dizzy from both the proposal and the spinning. Adora was going to be her wife. Not just her girlfriend, but her wife. “It's going to take me some time to save up for a wedding.” 

Adora stopped spinning. “I don’t care how long it takes.”

“We’ll probably have to skip out on the honeymoon, at least until I get done with art school.”

“I can live with that.” Adora leaned in, touching her forehead to Catra’s.

Catra’ couldn’t stop the smile on her face. She had never felt more complete.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read this. I’m getting back into writing after taking a long break, so thank you for helping me get my confidence back.


End file.
